The University of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland (UBLS) is a regional four-year liberal arts university influenced by the British educational system. Admission to UBLS is contingent on: (1) scoring high on the Cambridge Overseas School Certificate (COSC), (2) scoring high on the General Certificate of Education (GCE) Examination, (3) scoring high…

Using data sets from several American and British studies, this study compares the process of status attainment in the U.S. and Great Britain. The overall social mobility from generation to generation is very similar in both countries, as are the relative effects of social origin and individual ability on educational attainment and social status.…

The Task Force on Undergraduate Admissions undertook in 1976 to determine: (1) what steps, if any, to take to participate the results of the California Postsecondary Education Commission study of the university's eligibility pool, which may show that the pool has grown larger than 12 1/2 percent in high school graduates; (2) what recommendations…

Differential grading standards were examined in a sample of 1,029 Dartmouth College graduates. Fields of study that attracted students (as majors) who scored higher on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) employed stricter grading standards. These differential standards attenuated the substantial correlation between SAT scores and grades.…

Perspectives on secondary school preparation and college admissions, and specifically admissions to selective colleges, are provided. According to a 1977 Stanford University document (which is briefly summarized but not appended), there is considerable variation in the number of solid academic courses taken by high school students, and capable…

Discusses the effects of a hypothetical policy restricting entry to American colleges on the basis of academic standards, with those failing to meet the standard being forced to go to work. Examines the merits of the policy in the context of conservative and liberal educational reform movements. Focuses on the perceived economic and social…

Orange County (California) students in grades 9 and 10 compete in an annually held series of 10 competitive events measuring academic strengths. These events include tests in grammar and literature, fine arts, mathematics, science, social science, study skills, and a super quiz--a team event held before a large audience. In addition, there are…

Enrollment figures indicate that American colleges and universities are still segregated institutions. One-half of Negro college students are attending predominantly Negro colleges and most of the rest are attending junior colleges or other "open door" schools. Although there are a number of reasons for this academic qualifications for admission…

Institutional averages of entering freshman scores on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and the American College Test (ACT) were combined and edited to produce a single institutional measure of selectivity for 2,601 institutions. Correlations were made between scores and 19 institutional attributes. (Editor/LBH)

Access, excellence, and equity can be combined, with the help of a revised-access model for community colleges that merges the desirable elements of competitive selection and open enrollment in an effort to protect democratic values while supporting quality and commitment. (MSE)

Although high school art classes stress creativity, abstracting, analytical and evaluative skills, personal motivation, caring, and commitment to one one's own work, college admissions policies tend to undervalue them. To improve the quality of education, college admissions policies should take art as seriously as other "academic" subjects. (JBM)

A "two-pool" method developed to increase the opportunities of minority students for admission into restricted enrollment programs at Tallahassee Community College is presented in this report. Three matrices were created by matching a sample of student grade point averages against a sample of student scores on the School and College…

Presents a series of studies that show how applicant-reported biodata, together with standard academic criteria, were used to select candidates in one Canadian preservice teacher education program. Analysis of data from 1986-90 indicates that assigning equal weight to academic and personal criteria has several advantages. (SM)

A study investigated the relationship between undergraduate admissions selectivity at 40 research universities and academic rigor of course examination questions, as determined by the level of understanding required. Results suggest that more selective institutions do not provide more academically rigorous instruction than less selective ones.…

The admissions decision-making process at Dartmouth College is described in transcriptions of National Public Radio broadcasts. Applicants who are accepted have to be approved at Round Table, where their cases are considered for 30 days by 13 admission officers. These Round Table discussions of specific applicants, whose identities are concealed,…