I thought this was interesting: "In two cases that have become notorious in wait-list circles, MIT and Stanford took zero students from their lists for the freshman class that entered last fall." Read the full story here.

The change to the exam comes "as the 88-year-old test in recent years has slipped behind the rival ACT — a shorter exam with an optional essay — in total student customers," according to The Washington Post.

Students’ grades and the academic rigor of their course loads weigh more heavily in decisions to admit than standardized test scores, high school class rank, or demonstrated interest in attending, according to a new report. Essays are so important, but they can only tip the scales that already were weighted in your favor.

As someone who has edited a lot of essays about leadership, I appreciate that someone is asking the question of why it's valued above so many other qualities. "The implicit message behind the rhetoric of leadership in the American college admissions is that intellectualism alone is not enough, even for an academic institution," the article states.

The New York Times blogged recently on the rise of the quirky essay topic and how the approach is meant to find the creative thinkers. Closer to home, I've found that Oklahoma State seems to be the school with the most offbeat essay selections. Apply Texas, which covers the majority of Texas schools, goes with fairly standard fare.

I like this balanced look at what the Supreme Court decision in the UT affirmative action case means for state universities. “For supporters of affirmative action, I’d put it in the category of disaster averted rather than victory achieved,” said David A. Strauss, a law professor at the University of Chicago.

Students who want to attend UT, Texas A&M or any other Texas school in 2014 will have to tackle the essay topics on the Apply Texas application. The NEW topics are posted here.

CNN recaps the University of Texas admissions controversy still pending before the Supreme Court. A decision on the race-based admissions policy is expected later this month.

Wondering if children of alumni get preferential treatment in the college admissions process? Statistics say yes.

The Choice blog details 2013 "yields," which are the percentage of students who accept a college's offer of admission. "Most of the yields reported on our far-from-comprehensive list are well below 50 percent, which may indicate an increasing number of options for students who applied to multiple schools. In fact, some admission officers have told me that this is part of the rationale behind placing such large numbers of students on the wait list," the writer reports.