Finding your best fit school requires a lot of smart research, so don’t overlook one of the best sources of institutional information available. Amy and Mike invited independent counselor Jane Gabin to discuss how the common data set can help interpret what colleges tell you.

What are five things you will learn in this episode?

1. What is the Common Data Set?

2. How can studying the CDS help with judging the value of a school?

3. What does a school’s graduation rate tell us about the school?

4. How can the CDS be accessed and can anyone look at it?

5. Are there schools that try to hide their data?

MEET OUR GUEST

Jane S. Gabin has been publishing articles on colleges’ over-hiring of adjunct faculty since 2015, when she wrote about the problem in “Ask the College Counselor,” her regular column for InsideSchools.com. Her writing on this subject has also appeared in Inside Higher Ed (June 24, 2019), the Academe Blog (July 2, 2019 and May 21, 2020), and The College Prep Guide (college-prep-guide.com).

A member of NACAC, SACAC, and the International ACAC, as well as the Higher Education Consultants Association (HECA), she currently works as an independent counselor, addressing groups such as the local NAACP Youth Council about educational opportunities, and speaking to parents and students at local public libraries. 

Dr. Gabin has over 20 years in the college admissions profession. She worked for 10 years for the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at UNC-Chapel Hill, where she was in charge of all international admissions and counselor relations. She followed this with 11 years in college advising at independent schools in the NYC area, primarily at the United Nations International School (UNIS). 

She gave a talk at the SACAC 2020 conference on “Another Way of Looking at What Makes a College ‘Good’” when she addressed this issue (in addition to suggesting a close look at colleges’ admission rate, retention rate, class size, and graduation rate). 

Additionally, she has given or led sessions (primarily on the essay process) at the New Jersey ACAC, the New York State ACAC, NACAC, and for KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) in NYC.

She received a Ph.D. in English at UNC-Chapel Hill and has published one novel and is working on another. As an independent scholar, she is currently researching the lives of women artists in the 19th century.

Jane previously appeared on this podcast in episode 328 to discuss Concerns About College Staffing Trends.

Find Jane at  [email protected].

LINKS

Common Data Set

The Shortest Guide to College Admissions

RELATED EPISODES

USING THE COMMON DATA SET

POWER DYNAMICS IN COLLEGE ADMISSIONS

HOW IMPORTANT IS GPA IN COLLEGE ADMISSIONS?

HOW ADMISSIONS COUNSELOR MORALE IS CHANGING ADMISSIONS

ABOUT THIS PODCAST

Tests and the Rest is THE college admissions industry podcast. Explore all of our past episodes on the show page and keep up with our future ones by subscribing to our email newsletter.

ABOUT YOUR HOSTS

Mike Bergin is the president of Chariot Learning and founder of TestBright. Amy Seeley is the president of Seeley Test Pros and LEAP. If you’re interested in working with Mike and/or Amy for test preparation, training, or consulting, feel free to get in touch through our contact page.