Moneyball College Admissions Rules: Ignore the Status Quo

Bowling ball knocking down pinsLast week I talked about taking a Moneyball approach to the college admissions process. The idea being that as in Major League Baseball, the college admissions market is not operating efficiently resulting in some players/schools being significantly undervalued where others are way over-priced.

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OU Football Coach Supports Paying College Athletes?

Football player and moneyIf you have even been in a conversation about the role of college sports, at some point someone will talk about misplaced priorities in terms of spending and complain that the football or basketball coach makes more than the university president, much less the highest paid professor on campus. Another person will inevitably respond with that no one pays to watch a professor teach biology. It’s about the money. Since people are willing to pay for it, then the school is justified in spending it.

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The Moneyball Approach to College Rankings and Admissions

Have you seen the movie “Moneyball” or read the book by Michael Lewis? The story is about how the Oakland A’s baseball club managed to come up with winning seasons despite being one of the poorest teams in professional baseball. “Moneyball” refers to the strategy of identifying players used by the Oakland A’s general manager, Billy Beane.

What does Moneyball have to do with college admissions?

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College Search Spreadsheet Questions

thinking woman statueI’m taking a break from my 50-50 highlights this week. I’ve been thinking about doing a class on how to use the DIY College Search Spreadsheet and wanted to get some feedback. I’m trying to figure out what questions people have when using the spreadsheet so that the class will be focusing on the stuff people want to know.

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What to Read to Understand the O’Bannon vs. NCAA Trial

dog reading a bookNow I’m not saying you should know what the O’Bannon vs. NCAA trial is about or even care. If you have any interest in college basketball or football, it’s highly unlikely that you haven’t heard about the trial. But if this is all new to you and you start to wonder what all the fuss is about during the expected two-week trial, I suggest reading the following resources.

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Public Universities and Out-of-State Students

Road through wheat fieldPart of the college experience is leaving home, meeting new people, discovering new places, and hopefully learning a little just from the experiencing something different. However, there are two major factors that determine how likely this is to happen. One, how far away students are willing to travel to college and two, if a student attends a state institution.

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Comparison of Top 11 College Search Engines: The Final Results

flying pig(This is part 9 of Comparison of Top 11 College Search Engines)

After reviewing all eleven college search engines’ ability to search on various categories (you have been paying close attention, haven’t you?), you should realize that it’s nearly impossible to compare the results. There simply isn’t enough consistency between the websites in how they allow users to define their searches. But that isn’t keeping me from trying.

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Comparison of Top 11 College Search Engines: Searching for Colleges by Majors

Different Professions(This is part 8 of Comparison of Top 11 College Search Engines)

When we were visiting colleges with my son, one small liberal arts college pulled the parents aside for a discussion of the Liberal Arts and gainful employment. I don’t think the session was actually called that but it was definitely the idea behind the session. Will my child be able to get a job if she majors in the Liberal Arts?

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Comparison of Top 11 College Search Engines: College Acceptance Rates

accepted studentsWill I get in? If you just listen to the media starting at the beginning of April, you would think that the answer to this question for most college applicants is no. All you hear about is the ever decreasing admittance rates at some of the most highly competitive colleges and universities in the country. What possible chance does your kid have in getting in?

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