Profiles of 10 admissions officials who are making a mark in their profession.

When their own children begin to apply to colleges, admissions officers hover just like other parents —and say they learn vital lessons from the experience.

Colleges are adopting new strategies to try to ascertain whether their applicants got too much assistance with their essays.

Meanwhile, fueled by the Internet, more and more hired coaches are offering their services.

A growing number of Americans are enrolling in British institutions.

Some students end up in an admissions nightmare: They're rejected by the colleges they most wanted to attend and sometimes by all of those to which they applied.

A program started at the University of Virginia sends recent graduates into schools across the state to help students from low-income families deal with the admissions process.

Commentary

America needs a portfolio of postsecondary options that truly respond to students' interests and society's needs, writes Rona Wilensky, a high-school principal and former professor.
(Illustration by Linda Holton)

Unlike some of its richer peers, Cornell University cannot meet all financial-aid needs with grants, despite its large endowment. Carolyn (Biddy) Martin, the provost, explains why.

David W. Oxtoby, president of Pomona College, sees dangers in students' rush to take more and more Advanced Placement courses.

Four students talk about the factors that influenced their decisions about which college to attend.

Somehow, Taylor, a high-school student, found the campus strangely enchanting. An excerpt from a new novel by Susan Coll.

Robert A. Bonfiglio says colleges don't realize that teenagers pay little attention to e-mail messages from admissions offices, in part because many are only a step above spam.

Alexander J.G. Schneider, now a college sophomore, reveals what he wishes he had written in his admissions essays.

Rachel Toor provides probing answers to four top essay questions.

and other weird tales from the admissions zone.

How three institutions are working to achieve their enrollment goals.

• DEPAUW U.: Pursuing a 20-year quest for diversity in the heartland.
• EL PASO COMMUNITY COLLEGE: Untangling the financial-aid process.
• BELLARMINE U.: Looking beyond the bluegrass in recruiting.

Lloyd Thacker and his Education Conservancy have higher education's attention.

Some of them are offering pro bono or discount services to the less-wealthy students who most need help with the admissions process.

• A MUSICIAN GOES TO COLLEGE: A private counselor helped Andrew Quattrociocchi negotiate the admissions process.

A guide to recent changes in federal policies.

Commentary

For blue-collar minority families, college admissions can be an alien world, writes Carolyn Alessio.

We don't just help students sell themselves to colleges, says Katherine Cohen. We help them become the people they want to be.

Institutional partnerships and regional educational alliances can often reduce the cost of tuition when students cross state borders, says Christopher C. Morphew.

Admissions officers discuss the students they really wanted to snag but couldn't.

After her alma mater rejects her daughter, Erika J. Waters considers the nature of alumna allegiance.

The "gap year" is ripe with possibility, says Holly Bull.

THE VIEW FROM THE ADMISSIONS OFFICE: Private counselors prey on parents' anxieties, says one administrator; they prey on parents' illusions, says another. But a third says that a conscientious guide can indeed be helpful.

APPLICANT ESSAYS: Two samples -- one from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, the other from Miami Dade College -- from students who were admitted.

Controversy surrounds recruiting tactics, merit scholarships, standardized tests, rankings, "packaging" of applicants, and more.

Can class-based or class-conscious admissions make first-tier colleges a more viable option for low-income students?

Reformers are battling commercialization, conformity, and elitism in admissions. But those issues, nuanced and complex, don't lend themselves to sound bites.

Critics of admissions practices regularly bash U.S. News rankings and SAT's. But are colleges and their constituents ready to embrace the alternatives?

Enrollment nationwide is expected to peak in 2009, but some states will see growth for a decade or longer and are scrambling to meet the demand.

A summary of financial-aid and student-access bills before Congress.

Commentary

Six experts discuss the strengths and weaknesses of America's admissions practices.

If top colleges want to be "engines of opportunity" rather than "bastions of privilege," they must reach out to disadvantaged students, write William G. Bowen, Martin A. Kurzweil, and Eugene M. Tobin.

Barry Schwartz proposes a way to eliminate hypercompetitive admissions. Three admissions deans respond:

• WILLIS J. STETSON JR.: Admissions offices already take risks.
• ROBIN G. MAMLET: Selectivity is what produces the right fit.
• PAUL THIBOUTOT: Students are individuals, so admit them that way.
• THE FINAL WORD: Barry Schwartz responds.

Rachel Toor defines admissions lingo in a devil's dictionary.

Lloyd Thacker decries the commercial intrusions eroding educational values.

Michael V. Martin fears that land-grant universities are drifting toward an elitism that undercuts their purpose and history.

Two years later, Jonathan Alger says, colleges are still sorting through the implications of the Supreme Court's Michigan rulings.

Standardized tests don't predict aptitude, success, or happiness. They only give us the illusion of precision, says Theodore A. O'Neill.

Single-choice early-action plans create "ghost" applicants that hurt other candidates, writes Bruce J. Poch.

Marty Nemko offers strategic admissions tips for students and parents.

James Sumner chides colleges for tailoring admissions data to suit various audiences.

Selecting a college, says Philip A. Ballinger, should be part of the educational experience.

Quick summaries of recent reports on admissions