All posts by Mary Stegmeir

Admitted writer/editor Mary Stegmeir welcomes additional comments and story ideas at mstegmeir@nacacnet.org.
College Admission, College Readiness

Michelle Obama Encourages Students to Reach Higher

Former First Lady Michelle Obama has released a special back-to-school message.

“The harder you work in your classes this year, the more opportunities you’ll have to go to college and get the education you need to be who you want to be and build the life you want to live,” Obama tells students in a video message released by Better Make Room. “And that matters not just for your future, but for the future of our country and our world.”

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College Admission, College Readiness, Rankings

3 Ways to Make the Most out of College

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Editor’s note: A version of this post was originally published on Admitted in December 2017. It’s being republished as part of NACAC’s Best of the Blog series.

Feeling stressed about the college application process? Take heart.

“There are plenty of great schools in this country, and what matters much more than how they are ranked is how you make use of their resources,” Michael S. Roth, president of Wesleyan University (CT), writes in a column published by The Washington Post.

He continues: “When I talk to seniors and recent graduates from schools of all kinds and in various parts of the country, I find that it matters little how difficult it was to get admitted to that school and that it matters a great deal how hard they worked while attending it.”

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International Education

New Paper Offers Guidance on Institution-Agent Partnerships

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Does your college use agents to recruit international students?

In a new article published by NACAC, Jake Reckford, a client manager at IDP Connect, shares his perspective on what it takes to develop successful institution-agent partnerships.

The piece is offered in conjunction with a series of NACAC resource papers designed to help institutions that work with agents in the college admission process.

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College Completion

Survey Spotlights Student Mental Health

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Eight out of 10 college presidents report that student mental health has become more of a priority on their campuses over the past three years, according to a new survey from the American Council on Education (ACE).

The finding comes at a time when the number of students visiting campus counseling services continues to rise. As one president wrote: “Mental health has become a major issue for retention and the general well-being of our students . . . This is in my top three areas of improvement for my college.”

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College Admission

Member View: Enrollment Leaders Have an Important Role to Play

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Chief enrollment officers have a full plate.

In addition to overseeing admission operations, they often play a role in student success efforts and help ensure an institution fulfills the promise of its mission, NACAC member Angel B. Pérez writes in a recent opinion column published by Inside Higher Ed.

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Access, College Admission

Member View: Easing the College Transition for First-Gen Students

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Editor’s note:  This post was originally published on Admitted in August 2018. It’s being republished as part of NACAC’s Best of the Blog series.

Heading off to college can be an anxiety-ridden process for all teens, but first-generation and low-income students experience “a whole different level of stress,” NACAC member Andrew Moe wrote in a op-ed for the Hechinger Report.

As a result, such students are far more likely than their peers to “melt” — a term used to describe the phenomenon of students who enroll in college but fail to show up in the fall.

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Access

Pennsylvania OKs Tuition Waivers for Foster Kids

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Foster children in Pennsylvania will soon be able to attend college tuition-free.

A new state law extends the offer to anyone who spent time in foster care at age 16 or older, including students who have since aged out of the system or been adopted. Twenty-eight other states offer similar waivers for foster youth, according to The Allentown Morning Call.

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