Harvard University is the latest among Ivy League schools to report a drop in applications for the 2012-13 academic year.

Harvard fielded 34,285 applications from hopeful candidates for the academic year, down 1.9% from a year earlier.

The school joins Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania in reporting a decline. Columbia saw an 8.9% drop, while Penn said applications were down by 1.7%.

Why the decrease? In Harvard’s case, it could have something to do with the university’s decision to bring back its early application program this year. There has also been a drop in the number of high school seniors, according to BusinessWeek.

Do you think the number of applications to Ivy League schools will continue to drop? Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

This year’s admissions acceptance rates were lower than usual. For example, here are acceptance rates for:

• Yale (7.4%)
• Princeton (8.4%)
• Dartmouth (9.7%), and
• University of Pennsylvania (12.3%).

And here are some of the mistakes applicants made — which ultimately caused them to be rejected, according to The Daily Beast:

1. The F-bomb: “There was a really strong candidate we didn’t admit because he used an enormous amount of profanity in his personal essay. He had a string of F-bombs that was pretty remarkable. I am not opposed to profanity and sometimes it can work. But, every third word doesn’t work. Otherwise, he would have gotten in,” according to an admissions officer at Brown University.
2. The gimmick: “We had a student this year who sent a life-sized poster of herself in a box with a catchy jingle. It was attached to helium-filled balloons. When it was opened, the life-sized poster was supposed to go up in the air and unfurl before us like we were in a Harry Potter movie. But the balloons didn’t quite work. I don’t know that this hurt the student, but investing a few more minutes on the essay would have been a better use of her time. I just thought, ‘Wow, I hope it works out for her.’ I didn’t go look her up to make a statement one way or the other,” according to an anonymous admissions instructor.
3. The generic essay: “We wanted to know, why Penn? Did you submit a generic essay that was part of a school’s supplement—another school’s supplement? You may need to do a little bit more research before you hit the submit button. Take notes during the campus visit, and even if it isn’t your top choice, still understand that you need to speak to that school and show what you are going to contribute to that campus. Articulate why this school is for you. Students who do well will start citing faculty and programs they want to explore,” according to a University of Pennsylvania admissions dean.
4. The attempt at bribery? “We received pies this year, two from the same person. She was trying to say she’s not an athlete, but a really great baker. That was really sweet. We didn’t take her, but we ate the pies,” according to an anonymous admissions dean at a liberal arts college.

Click here to read more admissions red flags that the Daily Beast found.

What’s the craziest reason you nixed an applicant? Share your story in the comments box below — and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter.

Facebook use may be the most inessential social networking service available to students, according to a preliminary study of 84 students at the University of Pennsylvania.

The study split students into groups and prevented them from using either their email, texting, cell phones, Facebook or instant messaging services for one week. At the end of the week, they were asked what they had done to compensate for the ban, and what they thought of the different tools.

Interestingly, the students didn’t do much to compensate for the loss of Facebook, or use Facebook as a substitute for another banned service. The reason: Facebook friends aren’t necessarily “real” friends.

Students banned from texting compensated by calling more frequently and vice versa, because those are the preferred communications tools with their closest friends. They preferred contacting acquaintances using Facebook – and considered only 16% of their Facebook friends to be their real friends.

The survey also asked students to name “fair compensation” for going without each service for a week, and found they would accept:

• $99 for losing email
• $85 for losing texting
• $73 for losing cell phone calls
• $44 for losing Facebook, and
• $27 for losing instant messaging.

These results raise questions about how – and why – people use social networking. Share your thoughts below, and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter.

An expanded outreach program at the University of Pennsylvania is targeting gay students to boost its campus’s reputation as supportive of LGBT students.

The new initiative in Penn’s application process asks prospective students about the communities they would like to be active in.

Students who identify an interest in gay life at the university, through their current memberships or statements they make about themselves in their essays, are then contacted by Lambda Alliance, the school’s umbrella gay group, to reach out to those looking for a gay-friendly campus.

This recruiting technique adds sexuality to race and ethnicity, gender, geography and academics for schools looking to add diversity to their applicant pools.

But a voluntary question on all college applications is still a long way off, since colleges must abide by nondiscrimination agreements – including sexual orientation – in their application procedures.

Has your school considered a similar outreach initiative? Let us know in the comments section.

Charitable contributions to U.S. colleges and universities fell by nearly 12% last year, according to a survey by the New York-based Council for Aid to Education.

Stanford University was not immune to the sting of tighter purse strings: It collected about $140 million less in 2009 than it did in 2008, a decline of more than 18%.

Yet Stanford still headed the CAE’s list of top fundraising institutions for the year, taking in $640.11 million.

Rounding out the top five were Harvard University, Cornell University, the University of Pennsylvania and Johns Hopkins University.

Of the 1,027 survey respondents, the top 20 fundraisers collected more than 26% of all 2009 gifts. Two-thirds of the schools that participated in the survey in 2008 and 2009 reported a year-to-year decline in support.

CAE also said gifts for capital purposes sharply declined and alumni participation fell to 10% — the lowest level ever recorded in the 40-year history of the survey.

For more information, including information on how to order full survey results, click here.

Will the downward trend continue? Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

Kimberly Tingley-Kelley applied to the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine six times between 2002 and 2007. Her grades and GRE scores were on the low end of the range accepted by the school, but she was denied admission each time she applied.

Tingley-Kelley sued the school, claiming it denied her admission based on her gender and because she was a woman with young children and a husband in the military.

To support her claims, she pointed to her application review form, on which admissions committee members noted “concerns about how she’ll do in school esp. w/family, etc.” Another note pointed out that she’d be at school with two young children, while a third said Tingley-Kelley would have “a tough row to hoe.”

Tingley-Kelley also said her childcare responsibilities were discussed at length during admissions interviews.

This was all direct evidence that admissions committee members considered her status as a mother with young children and a spouse in the military when they chose to deny her admission, the court said. Therefore, it refused to grant summary judgment to the school on the discrimination claim.

Cite: Tingley-Kelley v. Trustees of the Univ. of Pennsylvania.

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Ever used Google maps street view? Soon you’ll be able to view college campuses with the same technology.

Google mappers have been riding tricycles around several college campuses, including University of Pennsylvania, Penn State and San Diego State.

Using an eight-foot high camera mounted on the trike, they’re taking panoramic images of the campuses. The mappers pedal around college walkways, paths and malls – where cars aren’t allowed.

This way, students and their parents can get a real feel for the different schools – and new students easily can figure out the best way to get to classes, dining halls, etc.

As for the mappers, it’s not the easiest job in the world. The trike and its equipment (there’s also a computer to record the digital images) weighs in at 250 pounds.

While some complain Google’s street views invade the privacy of individuals and institutions, others say these 360-degree images of streets and paths is an excellent resource.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments section below.

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