You might assume this is the report for Harvard! Nope! These are this year’s numbers for Northeastern University who collected more applications than USC. Why? “It comes down to our relevance as a university,’’ Mantella said. “Experiential learning really resonates with this generation, especially in this economy, with their concerns about job opportunities and getting an edge up. We are just so well positioned for today’s prospective students.’’ Good to  see students are picking relevance over reputation per se, with relevance will come a meaningful reputation.  No slam intended to USC, but all colleges and universities must put the needs of their customers first, tradition won’t carry the day any longer. For more on Northeastern see today’s article in the Boston Globe. http://Boston.com

Roughly comparable high school students may choose between Cal Lutheran and Humboldt State…68% will graduate in six years from Cal Lutheran and only 43% from Humboldt. Similarly, comparable students may choose between UCDavis and Cal Poly SLO…81% will graduate in 6 years from Davis, only 69% from Cal Poly SLO. These differences reflect (crudely at best) that something very different is going on inside these schools. Note those students who are great students graduate at close to 90% after six years wherever they go…UC Berkeley, UCLA, USC, Stanford or Pomona. Query if the school can really take full credit for that number. Lesson: look more deeply into the educational program of the school you are considering.