Going where you're wanted

I always enjoy visiting colleges. Last week's trip to Colorado was packed with five schools in two days, not a schedule I recommend to my clients. But I didn't want to miss any of the college admission conference in Denver, the reason for this trip.

Talking to counselors and admissions officers from schools around the country is the best part of conferences. The admissions dean of a liberal arts college in the Pacific Northwest attended a session about the predicted increase in California's college-going population.

He asked me if the UC will be building a new campus to absorb the additional applicants. While UC Merced will grow in the next 10 years, I know of no plans for additional UC campuses. The increased competition for admission to the UC system may raise anxiety in prospective students and their parents, but this dean sees an opportunity to increase his school's applicant pool.

He's not the only one. The assistant dean of admissions at a college in New England said they are recruiting more California students due to population changes. While the number of high school graduates applying to college will increase here, New England is expected to produce fewer college students in the future.

Many public universities in other parts of the country are actively seeking outofstate students. The associate director of admissions at an excellent public university on the East Coast had a booth at this conference, which was attended primarily by counselors from the Rocky Mountain states and the Pacific Northwest.

Clearly, he wants to recruit more students from outside his state. He was delighted when I offered to arrange a meeting to introduce his California recruiter to local counselors.

With New Orleans still recovering from Hurricane Katrina, colleges in that city are eager for more students. While the numbers of applications to Tulane was high last year, the number of students who actually matriculated was lower than they'd hoped for. Understandably, families have some concerns, but for the right student, especially someone who would like to help rebuild the city, there are great opportunities in New Orleans.

With competition for admission at an alltime high, students can increase their chances by applying to schools that are looking for students like them. For males, applying to liberal arts colleges where the student body is 60 or 65 percent female is a good way to increase prospects.

While Asian-American students are not considered an underrepresented group in California, I've talked to admissions directors at colleges in other parts of the country who would love to see more applications from these students. Jewish students are also in demand at some schools. Of course, the tradeoff is that while it might be easier to get into these schools, students might not find many peers who share their religious, ethnic or cultural background.

It's true that the competition for admission has increased at many colleges. But it's also true that there are lots of good schools that still want you. And being wanted is a pretty nice feeling. It can make the college application process a lot less scary and a lot more fun.

Audrey Kahane, MS, MFA, is a private college admissions counselor in West Hills. She can be reached at (818) 704-7545 or at audreykahane@earthlink.net.