Secrets of College Admissions

As college-bound students weigh their options, they often look to the various statistics that universities trumpet -- things like the high number of applications, high test scores, and low acceptance rate.

But students may want to consider yet another piece of info: the ways in which schools can pump up their stats.

"There's no question about it," said David Kalsbeek, senior vice president for enrollment management and marketing at DePaul University, of tactics to boost selectivity. "There are ways of inflating a metric to improve perceived measures of quality."

Some of these tweaks -- such as a more streamlined application -- can actually benefit students. Others serve to make the admissions process more confusing. Here's a rundown....

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