Basics of Admissions In Europe

This first lesson is about the admissions basics. And it’s important to start here because there’s an entirely different mindset.

Slide 1: Lesson 1: The Basics

This first lesson is about the admissions basics. And it's important to start here because there's an entirely different mindset. It's a whole different ball game when you're dealing with the admissions process in Europe. So it's good to have some background and some basic information.

Slide 2: Selectivity does not correlate with quality or reputation.

I want to start this lesson out by encouraging you to embrace this whole different mindset. In Europe, selectivity rate is not an indicator of how good or reputable a school is. It doesn't correlate with quality or reputation at all.

Slide 3: And now for a brief history lesson…

So let's get into the reasons for our own faulty beliefs around this. Universal higher education is still pretty new in the US. It used to be that just having a degree was a status symbol of sorts. But as more and more people went to college, particularly due to the GI Bill, there was this shifting view about how to determine prestige around universities and simply attending was no longer the status symbol. So US News jumped on this shifting view and they began their annual US college rankings in the mid 80s.

So there's this consumer society-run college now, and both colleges and families participate in this culture and society. Universities recognize that a high ranking with US News leads to status, money, and applicants to choose from so they're invested in doing what's needed to play the game. And they often cheat in the process, but that's a whole different story.

Slide 4: US Rankings Selectivity Factors

  • Overall acceptance rate
  • Percentage of students in the 10% of class
  • ACT/SAT Scores

So selectivity factors are one of the things that US News uses to rank the universities in the US. And the amount of weight that selectivity plays into rankings has varied through the years. It's currently at 12.5%. And it looks at the overall acceptance rate, the percentage of students who were in the top 10% of their class, and the ACT and SAT scores.

This is one of the reasons that universities in the US are focused on finding those top students. It's why kids take a billion AP courses to get in the top 10% of their class. But it's also why universities want more kids to apply, even if they aren't going to get in so that the selectivity percentage goes down, which helps their rankings. So they're not worried about, you know, having kids apply who aren't qualified. They want that because it will give them a better — or you know, a smaller acceptance rate, which helps them with the rankings.

Slide 5: There’s no point in applying to more than 10 to 15 schools…

So I did a Google search about how many schools students are applying to, which we know is a lot easier now with the Common App. I saw article after article suggesting more than six. This is in the US. I just want to specify the we're still talking about the US system. There was an article I read in Forbes, which in an attempt to be reassuring, after noting that some kids apply to more than 30 schools said, there's no point in applying to more than 10 to 15 schools, as long as you take the time to do the research and polish those applications. A smaller number is fine, but expect to have fewer choices. 10 to 15 schools? That's just crazy!

Slide 6: NSSE

So again, the problem when we're talking about the rankings is that we're assessing quality and reputation based on inputs, not outcomes. So, you know, they have smart kids coming in, but what happens when they're there? What are the outcomes of the education?

So there is actually outcome research done each year by the National Survey of Student Engagement, NSSE. It looks at things like how much time students spend with the professors, how many books are read for a class, how many papers they had to write, the percentage of or the proportion of lectures and discussion, how much time a student spends on work outside of the class, how much group work they engage in, what sorts of tutoring resources are available.

I mean, these are things that really do talk more about the experience as a student. So US News, in their defense, they have asked schools for years to release these results. And all but just a few have refused. So they're not able to use it as part of their criteria, because the schools won't give it to them. 

Slide 7: Global rankings are based 100% on research related criteria…

So anyway, that's my little historical soapbox about rankings in the US and some of the problems there. But what I want to tell you though is that that's just for the US rankings. When we're looking at the global rankings, whether they're done by US News or Times Higher Education, or Shanghai, there are these big agencies that do global rankings. However, they don't use these same criteria. They're based 100% on research-related criteria.

So this has its own set of issues, primarily that many smaller, specialized or non-research focused schools aren't even eligible for rankings. However, since selectivity isn't assessed, there's no focus on that, or about gaming the system around that. Thank goodness. 

Slide 8: Selectivity does not correlate with quality or reputation.

So, just to restate, the reason that selectivity is valued in the US, is due to the power that the countrywide ranking system has. We're shifting our mindset to a place that isn't using that same value system. So we really need to shift our thinking around it. When we're dealing with Europe, selectivity does not correlate with quality or reputation. So again, very important takeaway. 

Slide 9: Focus in on admitting students who have the qualifications needed to succeed in the program

As you probably already know, when you're applying to a school in Europe, you're applying to a specific program at that school, not the university as a whole. So some programs have enrollment caps, and some don't. The focus is on accepting students who have the qualifications and the qualities that are needed to succeed in the program. Those with enrollment caps may have more requirements than those without. It's not usually about being better than all the other applicants, it's about being a good fit with your qualifications and interests. Even the more competitive programs almost always have transparent, and generally objective criteria. 

Slide 10: Binding Study Advice

So even though it's easier to get in, the difference is you have to prove yourself the first year. And this is a difference in the lack of a consumer mentality. Since education isn't being run like big business, the student is not seen so much as sort of a dollar sign. 

In the US, if a student fails a bunch of classes, they're kept in and it just takes longer to graduate. And that means more tuition money for the school. However, in Europe, some schools have something called a Binding Study Advice. Sometimes it's not called anything and it's just a system they have in place. Binding Study Advice is what they call it in the Netherlands, and some other schools in Europe. But again, they might just not call it anything-or they might not have the procedure in place at all. What it means, though, is that you have to pass a certain number of courses your first year, or you can't come back for the second year of study.

So before that worries you too much, let me tell you a few things. We're talking about passing courses, not an overall GPA. You know the number that you have to pass ahead of time and it's assessed after the first semester. It's assessed to see if you're on track, if you're sort of in the danger zone or gray area. And if you are in the gray area, there are resources to use at second semester to make sure that you pass the number that you need to in order to come back the second year. 

Slide 11: Non-selective admissions

But the thing that really blows my mind is this thing that's sometimes called — it's what I call it, actually — non-selective admissions. I say it's what I call it because it doesn't even really have a name. It's just how things are done in some places. This is for those programs that don't have an enrollment cap. Basically, if you apply to these programs, and you have the qualifications that they have defined, you're in, period. 

So here’s an example of one of our members who applyed to one of these types of programs. And I'm going to preface this by telling you that it's at a top 100 school, not because I think anything about ratings, but just to help you break through the thought that selectivity correlates with reputation. 

So this program requires applicants to have three AP scores of 3.0 or more, and a 3.5 GPA. He had finished his junior year with the three AP scores he needs. He knew he met that requirement and his GPA was in good shape. So he knew he would be accepted. Because of that, he only applied to the one school. Why apply to more when he knew that this program and this school is where he wants to be, and that he's going to get in, he doesn't need a safety school. It wouldn't help his chances if he had ten AP scores of 5.0, or if he had a higher GPA. It's about meeting the transparent requirements.

So if this were a program with an enrollment cap, they might have additional requirements and the motivation letter, which he still had to submit, but it might carry some weight in the admissions decision if it were a program with an enrollment cap. But either way, these are transparent and attainable.

Slide 12: Challenge your own beliefs about the correlation between selectivity and quality

So my biggest goal in this lesson is to help you start challenging any beliefs you have about the importance of selectivity. To help you with this, a homework for this lesson is to listen to an interview I did with an administrator from one of my favorite schools in the Netherlands, University of Groningen, who talks about the admissions philosophy and sort of what they look at. I hope you enjoy it, it's going to be listed in the resource section. 

And we also have an action step for you to take about how to assess quality. If you're not looking at the selectivity rate, what's important to you. You'll also find that action step in the resource section. And then in Lesson Two, we're going to get into the specific requirements of different countries and different schools.