McDaniel’s chief admissions officer gave the Sun’s readers insight into the college selection process in Sunday’s edition.

In a Question-and-Answer feature in the newspaper’s Idea section, Marty O’Connell, Vice President for Enrollment Management and Dean of Admissions, offered a straightforward look at the college admissions process from the viewpoints of students as well as colleges. O’Connell is affiliated with The Education Conservancy and Colleges That Change Lives, two groups approaching the process from a different angle.

“We are trying to calm students and their parents down,” O’Connell says in the article. “We want them to realize that there are so many choices in this country that it is absurd for someone to say, ‘Oh, I’m not going to get in anywhere.’ To hear those words coming out of the mouth of someone who lives in a country with more than 1,500 four-year colleges and universities does not really make sense.”

The 30-year veteran of college admissions dispelled myths about college rankings and the misperception that there is but one college that is perfect for each student. She also talked about McDaniel’s name change from Western Maryland College more than three years ago and the increase in applications that resulted from it.

“For us it has really been dramatic. We are so thrilled to have students from all over the country applying,” she says. “Our applications are 17 percent ahead of last year at this point.”

Click here to read the Baltimore Sun feature. Free registration may be required.