Editorial: Don’t skimp on college applications

It’s the final hurdle before high school senioritis kicks in — finishing those college… It’s the final hurdle before high school senioritis kicks in — finishing those college applications. They’re time consuming, repetitive and can get costly. As a result, some colleges have developed a way to expedite the process and make it easier on students.

Take the College of Saint Rose in Albany, for example. Last fall, the school obtained a list of names of soon-to-be graduating seniors from the marketing departments of credit card companies.

The school then proceeded to send out 30,000 applications in the mail that told prospective students it would not only waive the $40 application fee, it would also allow applicants to forego the labor involved in writing an essay. Students would also know their application status within three weeks. Saint Rose further simplified the process by also obtaining much of the students’ information, according to The New York Times. For the edgy senior unsure of where to apply, it looks like one sweet deal. Monetarily and time-wise, it is. However, such a cursory process isn’t without its drawbacks.

The College of Saint Rose isn’t the only school taking this approach to recruiting students. Last fall, over 100 other schools sent out variations of these no-fuss applications.

Predominant factors in considering students’ admittance fall on their high school transcript and standardized test scores. The college essay, no matter how much angst it causes in students, is another staple. By eliminating this criteria, schools only add to the impersonal aspect of the applications process: students are looked at as numbers, or rather, only by their numbers. Perhaps the essay isn’t considered as heavily as the hard numbers anyway, but it’s a long-standing, ubiquitous element.

As enticing as it is, speeding the process up might dissuade potential students from actually visiting schools or trying to find the schools they think would be the best fit for them. As for visiting, students can get a good feel for schools just by looking at their Web sites and taking a virtual tour — although nothing compares to actually seeing a school first-hand. The problem is, after sending in one of these quick and easy applications, a student might not want to go through the seemingly even-more laborious process of filling out applications in full. Although students have nothing to lose by applying to schools with no fee — unless a student truly wants to attend one of these schools — students shouldn’t limit their breadth of schools to apply to because of laziness. College takes work, and the application process, no matter how extensive, doesn’t compare in scope.

The College of Saint Rose in Albany has seen a 25 percent annual increase in applications as well as a rise in minority admissions. Students are, after all, schools’ customers. Given the economy, schools still need customers — despite their price tags — and the simpler application seems an easy way to keep admissions numbers up.