Sloan School now accepting online applications only
Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Sloan School of Management announced this month that students must apply for admission over the Internet, apparently making it the first graduate or undergraduate school to eliminate paper applications.

MIT says the new policy will save thousands of dollars in processing, printing, and postage costs, in addition to countless hours of staff time. The Sloan School is using a new Internet site started by sponsors of the Graduate Management Admission Test that allows students to fill out application forms, pay application fees, and arrange to have their GMAT scores sent to MIT. The only items that cannot yet be sent electronically are college transcripts and letters of recommendation.

(Sources: The Boston Globe, August 4; Financial Times, August 17..

Freshmen prefer to stay near home, says U.S. News
Sixty percent of freshmen attend college within 100 miles of home, and only 10 percent attend an institution more than 500 miles away, according to U.S. News & World Report.

U.S. News: academic reputation important to freshmen
According to U.S. News & World Report, 54 percent of college freshmen consider an institution's academic reputation to be very important to them in choosing a college. Only 26 percent said a university's social reputation was important.

Reprinted with permission from CASE Flash Points.