Universities Weblog

But Ms. Katz, 19, is not thinking of spending it on herself or a loved one. She and seven classmates at Colgate University, a small liberal arts college here in central New York, are taking a new seminar in philanthropy, learning how foundations operate and studying ways to give money to people in need.

"Rather than helping someone out for the day, we get to really look at the root of the problem," she said.

Many universities offer courses in philanthropy, but Colgate's is unusual because in early May, at the end of the school year, the students will award $10,000 to nonprofit organizations of their choice, after researching worthy recipients. Only a few such courses nationwide give students the opportunity to give away real money.

"We're helping students learn the business of philanthropy," said Ellen Percy Kraly, the professor who teaches the course.

The seminar is financed by the Brennan Family Foundation of Ohio, which has ties to the university through Jay Brennan, a family member who graduated in 1981. Earlier this year, the foundation donated $50,000 for five years of classes, with each group of students getting $10,000 a year to give away.

The seminar is not offered for credit, Dr. Kraly said, because it was put together quickly over the summer after the college received the Brennan grant. She expects that credit will be offered in the future.

Part of the goal of the course, she said, is to help the local community, especially because the Colgate campus is an affluent enclave - where tuition, board and expenses cost about $45,000 a year - surrounded by a rural, economically depressed region. Dr. Kraly, a geography professor, is also director of the Upstate Institute, a research center of the college whose mission, according to its Web site, is to "create linkages between Colgate University and the regional community."

But she has no illusions of sharing in India's newfound prosperity when she graduates from Hinduja College this spring. While others land $100,000-a- year jobs at Goldman Sachs and Microsoft, she is more likely to make $4 a day selling credit cards door to door.

THE REALITY

The University of California at Berkeley puts out a flier listing commonly asked questions, including: "If I don't think I will be admitted into the college or major I want, can I apply to another one and switch after I'm on campus?" The answer is tentative: "It may be possible" but "it may be very difficult." But one thing is certain: selectivity varies. At Berkeley, the combined SAT average score of this fall's freshmen was 1953 for the College of Letters and Science; 1892 for the College of Environmental Design; and 1842 in the College of Natural Resources.

For Cornell this fall, 90 percent of freshmen admitted to the College of Arts and Sciences placed in the top 10 percent of their high school class; 75 percent ranked that high for Agriculture and Life Sciences. Gender matters, too. A woman had a 20 percent chance of getting into Arts and Sciences but a 49 percent chance of getting into the College of Engineering.

HOW TO

Although universities generally report only a campuswide set of statistics, most admissions offices will break them down by individual program if you ask.

Once on campus, you can typically apply for transfer after one year - if you've taken appropriate courses and maintained a solid grade point average (around a 3.0 at Cornell and Berkeley; 1.8 at Vanderbilt and the University of Virginia). Cornell wants students to resubmit their college applications and write a statement outlining their academic plans.

CAVEATS

To be admitted to a specialized program in lieu of liberal arts, you need to have demonstrated some proficiency in the field, and before senior year. Howard Greene, a consultant in Westport, Conn., encourages students looking at Vanderbilt to consider the education or music school. In 2005, the two had a 44 percent admittance rate compared with 31 percent for liberal arts. "The cute phrase they use down there is chopin-ing your way in," he says. But, he warns, do this only if you have a genuine interest in music or teaching.

Risks include having to do a fifth year to make up credits, or getting stuck in the wrong program. Mr. Greene has had clients enroll in the University of Pennsylvania's nursing school with the intention of moving out, only to struggle with the science curriculum. "The parents called and said, 'We wish we would have known.' You better be darn sure you know what you're getting into."

SUCCESS RATE

Moving within a university is easier than entering it. "It's not automatic, but if they can make a good argument for themselves, it will eventually happen," says Vivian Geller, director of Cornell's internal transfer division. She says 90 percent of those who ask to make a change do. "It's difficult to ask 18-year-olds to commit to a particular field."