Chronicle college columns worth reading

Check out college admissions advisor Joanne Levy-Prewitt's College Bound column in every Sunday's Chronicle (non-newspaper junkies may be missing it —: it's on sfgate). It's especially appealing to newbies to the admissions process, since it's reassuring and avoids alarming us with esoteric concepts like debates about early action vs. early decision.

Are women getting dissed in college admissions?

Because of equal protection and Title IX laws, public colleges cannot manipulate their gender balance. However, private colleges are exempt from some admission restrictions and, in the quest to achieve gender balance, some private colleges have admitted lesser-qualified men instead of more qualified women.

After years of working toward educational equality, it is disheartening to think that the college admissions' bar has been raised even higher for young women. My guess is that at some private colleges with balanced gender enrollment, women are getting the short end of the admissions stick.

Does the SAT writing test have any value at all? (I'll post more info on the many critiques of this later)

There's nothing wrong with requiring that all college-bound students take a writing exam. However, some say, this writing exam has been, and continues to be, a poor indication of a student's writing ability.

Paul Marthers, the dean of admission at Reed College in Portland, Ore., says his school does not look closely at the SAT writing score, instead choosing to look at the graded writing sample required from students applying for admission.

I'm posting this one even though my own purist high school junior thinks paying for test prep corrupts the process.

Spending the college fund to prepare for admissions

Parents can obtain free education for their children at public schools, yet the reality is that those of college-bound students open their wallets long before the first tuition bill must be paid.

When evaluating applicants, colleges are most interested in students' GPAs, so providing academic assistance is a wise choice. Some high school courses are too tough for the student to tackle alone, and families may turn to tutors. ... Colleges are also interested in their applicants' SAT or ACT scores, so getting extra help in preparing for the exams can be wise, too.

And I have previously posted Levy-Prewitt's column on whether public or private high school is a better choice for the college-bound, a topic dear to my heart as a public-school advocate.