All posts by Ashley Dobson

The New ‘Senioritis’: Finding Your Motivation

The school year is almost over and motivation for many high school seniors is quite low.

Commonly known as “senioritis,” this is the time after college acceptances arrive and high school seniors start to feel like school isn’t important.

Senioritis often has a negative connotation. But past #NACACreads author Ned Johnson thinks the term and the feeling need a rebrand.

Continue reading The New ‘Senioritis’: Finding Your Motivation

Michelle Obama Celebrates College Signing Day in LA

Courtesy of UCLA

Former First Lady Michelle Obama celebrated student success at Reach Higher’s fifth annual College Signing Day event Wednesday.

“I want you all to know, personally, you are about to make the best investment that you can possibly make. And that’s true whether you are going to a trade school or to the military or to a community college or to a four-year university,” Obama said to loud cheers.

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Imagine Grant Supports College Admission Program for Non-Native English Speakers

Courtesy of Robbie Cupps

For non-native English speakers, figuring out the college admission process often has an additional layer of challenges.

Robbie Cupps, a college and career counselor at Capital High School (ID), works in the Boise School District, which has a significant population of Spanish-speaking students.

Working with these students, she knew she had to take a different approach and a grant from the NACAC Imagine Fund helped make it possible.

Continue reading Imagine Grant Supports College Admission Program for Non-Native English Speakers

Bipartisan Bill Supports College Access for the Incarcerated

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Higher education is often a pathway to finding a job, owning a home, and earning higher wages throughout a person’s lifetime.

But access to higher education for the nation’s prison population has faced significant challenges over the past few decades.

A new bipartisan bill making its way through Congress would restore Pell Grant eligibility for incarcerated individuals, giving many the ability to pay for higher education and workforce training.

Continue reading Bipartisan Bill Supports College Access for the Incarcerated

You Already Know This, But…

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The statistics on college acceptance rates don’t lie. They also don’t come as a surprise to people working in the college admission profession.

Although media coverage and parent perceptions can make it seem as though a handful of selective universities are the norm, most US colleges and universities admit a majority of students who apply.

NACAC’s State of College Admission report has proclaimed this for years, but a new study from Pew Research Center is backing it up and pushing its findings into the mainstream.

Continue reading You Already Know This, But…

Perspective: College Admission Leaves Low-Income Students Behind

Courtesy of Personal Statement

The college admission process is complex and the fight for equity and access within it is far from over.

Enoch Jemmott, now a senior at Queens College (NY), recently shared his experience as a low-income student navigating the college admission process in a The New York Times piece titled, “The Implicit Punishment of Daring to Go to College When Poor.”

“I came to realize that, in every step along the way, we had to do more because we had less,” Jemmott wrote.

Continue reading Perspective: College Admission Leaves Low-Income Students Behind

Instagram Accounts for Admitted Students Influence Decisions

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Instagram is the new Facebook for college-bound students.

Facebook was originally designed to connect college students. The social network’s audience now skews older, but that doesn’t mean new students aren’t still connecting online before they even get to campus.

Accepted students are now starting Instagram accounts for their class. A new crop of Class of 2023 accounts has just popped up on Instagram and admitted and prospective students are using them to make their final decisions, pick a roommate, and connect before classes begin in the fall.

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Report: Public Research Universities Prioritize Out-of-State, High-Income Recruitment

Public research universities often aren’t putting their money where their mouth is when it comes to student recruitment.

A new report from The Joyce Foundation found that most public research universities prioritize recruiting out-of-state students and were less likely to visit schools in low-income areas.

The report analyzed recruiting visits to local high schools made by admission staff at 15 public research universities in the US.

Continue reading Report: Public Research Universities Prioritize Out-of-State, High-Income Recruitment

Emphasis on Financial Literacy Could Help Students Borrow More Responsibly

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Financial literacy is not typically a top priority for American teens but new research shows that taking a course in personal finance could help teens borrow more responsibly for college.

Researchers at Montana State University found when students are required to take personal finance courses to graduate high school, they are more likely to shift from high-cost borrowing to low-cost borrowing to finance their college degree.

Students who took these classes were about 10 percent more likely to apply for federal financial aid and take out a federal loan than those without financial education, according to the study.

Continue reading Emphasis on Financial Literacy Could Help Students Borrow More Responsibly

Member View: Ditch the College Admission Stress

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The college search and application process can be a stressful time for families and students. But there are ways to manage this stress and anxiety.

Sherri Geller, co-director of college counseling at Gann Academy (MA), recently shared her stress management tips with JewishBoston.

Continue reading Member View: Ditch the College Admission Stress