Don’t Fall for the Flutie Effect 🎓🦅
March Madness can lead to crazy college choices.
Even though your brackets may already be busted, the hype around the NCAA Division I may still make you a winner or loser in admissions. But first the news…
COLLEGE NEWS
Whether may depend on weather: According to research, the feeling or impression that students get about enrolling in a particular college may be strongly influenced by weather conditions during a campus visit: students are 10% less likely to apply when their tour is hot and 8% less likely when precipitation occurs during their tour. Maybe just pack an umbrella?
Not just for Floridians: A measure to limit the nonresident undergraduate enrollment at Florida’s pre-eminent research universities from ~10% to 5% failed to pass. Those Yankee dreams of earning a degree in the Sunshine State are still alive, but finding a way to finagle a generous Bright Futures scholarship is still mostly out of reach.
Excellence older than the Aztecs: Oxford University has once again topped the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, beating out the most prestigious schools in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australasia. This hallowed institution also ranks very high on unofficial lists for the most tortoises on campus!
Believe it or not, now is the time to plan for both spring and summer testing. If you’re not already working with someone, let me and my expert team at Chariot Learning help you make the most of the months ahead!
BIG IDEA
Did you know that Boston College saw a 30% increase in applications over two years following QB Doug Flutie’s renowned last-second touchdown pass in 1984? The famous face of Flutie Flakes was obviously only instrumental in one instance of irrational enrollment exuberance, but ever since then, the sudden surge colleges see after a major athletic victory has been called the Flutie Effect.
Is the Flutie Effect real? Nick Saban’s successful seasons certainly added allure to the University of Alabama. Another famous coach–Coach Prime–earned a namesake effect of his own: after Deion Sanders became the football coach at the University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder), the Prime Effect elicited a record-breaking 68,000+ applications for the 2024 freshman class, a 20% increase over the previous year.
That said, most examples of the Flutie Effect center on college basketball:
After their iconic 2007 Fiesta Bowl victory against Oklahoma, Boise State University saw an 18% increase in applications.
Following their historic 2018 NCAA Tournament upset of #1 seed Virginia, University of Maryland, Baltimore County experienced an 18% increase in applications and significantly increased their student population, a major surge.
A team doesn’t have to win it all to give a college a glow-up from tournament success: George Mason University in 2006 and Florida Gulf Coast University AKA Dunk City in 2013 were smaller schools that experienced significant national visibility gains from big wins over higher seeded schools.
In the midst of March Madness, should smart applicants succumb to what some academics refer to as The Dynamic Advertising Effect of Collegiate Athletics? Of course not! Obviously many teens aspire to be lifelong fans of storied collegiate sports teams and feed off the exultant vibes of victory both on campus and forever after. But a long list of factors should be considered before imagining your future alma mater winning it all on a big stage:
Academic fit and rigor
Economic fit and scholarship opportunities
Specific majors and programs
Campus life and culture
School size and structure
Location and distance from home
Anticipated plans after graduation
These seven broad factors all matter more than how successful a school’s teams are in a couple of specific sports… unless you are on the team, of course. Don’t let March Madness induce a more lasting form of insanity in choosing a school based on basketball prowess. If your dream college happens to also go far in The Big Dance, all the better. But don’t fall for the Flutie Effect.
NAME THAT SCHOOL
Think you know a lot about colleges? Try to guess this institution of higher education. (Find the answer at the end of the newsletter.)
The only public university in the United States to have held classes and graduated students in the 18th century, starting in 1795.
The university’s very first student walked 170 miles to enroll and is still memorialized today.
Renowned as a top-tier public research university with premier programs in health sciences, business, and liberal arts
Legend has it that a drink from the lucky well on campus on the first day of classes will guarantee a student a 4.0 GPA for the semester.
The school’s recognizable color scheme was based on the representative colors of its two debating societies.
APPLICATION ACTION STEPS
🎓 Take steps to make your AP exams count.
🎓 Explore ways to manage and solve math anxiety.
🎓 Prepare constructive ways to handle college rejection.
🎓 Learn the (slim) odds of a high school athlete playing in college.
HOTLINE
Do you have any burning questions to ask or want to share an issue, article, or resource our readers should know about? Dial up the College Eagle hotline through this easy form. We appreciate you!
NAME THAT SCHOOL ANSWER
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) just fired men's basketball coach Hubert Davis after another early exit in the NCAA tournament. Go Tar Heels?