All posts by Mary Stegmeir

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

College Coaches Use Social Media to Vet Recruits

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Editor’s note: A version of this post originally appeared on Admitted in June 2016. It’s being republished as part of NACAC’s Best of the Blog series.

Hoping to play sports in college? Make sure your social media accounts send the right message to recruiters.

“Right or wrong, most college coaches will assume that how you act on social media will be how you act on campus,” according to a recent USA Today column by Fred Bastie. “For that reason, your actions and behavior on social media in high school are critical if you expect to play in college.”

Continue reading College Coaches Use Social Media to Vet Recruits →

Access, NACAC News

ICYMI: NACAC President Responds to Trump Administration’s Reported Plan to Challenge Affirmative Action

NACAC President Nancy Beane

NACAC President Nancy T. Beane responded Wednesday to media reports suggesting the Trump administration is considering legal action against colleges and universities with race-conscious admission policies.

In a statement released to the press, Beane noted that the Supreme Court upheld in 2016  the right of colleges to consider a student’s race or ethnicity as one factor when making admission decisions.

“By disregarding the Fisher ruling, the administration and Justice Department would frustrate efforts to improve educational opportunity, and would erode respect for diversity in higher education,” she said. “This initiative would be a serious challenge to the critical work of improving college access and success for all students.”

Continue reading ICYMI: NACAC President Responds to Trump Administration’s Reported Plan to Challenge Affirmative Action →

Access, NACAC National Conference, NACAC News

Real Talk: Discuss Diversity, Bias, and Cultural Fluency at #nacac17

It’s human nature: Difficult conversations are often the easiest ones to avoid.

Yet when it comes to discussions surrounding diversity, bias, and cultural fluency, educators owe it to themselves and the students they serve to tune in.

Next month, attendees at NACAC’s national conference in Boston will have the opportunity to do just that. Two interactive Real Talk sessions—one addressing workplace issues, the other focused on the needs of students and families—will be facilitated by Lisa D. Walker, former director of Cross Cultural Student Development at the University of California-Berkeley.

“Good conversation and effective dialogue can inspire us to change individually and collectively,” Walker told Admitted. “In my experience, those changes often start small but can gain momentum over time.”

Continue reading Real Talk: Discuss Diversity, Bias, and Cultural Fluency at #nacac17 →

International Education

More Training Needed for High School Counselors Serving International Students

From negotiating language and cultural divides to interacting with agents, US high school counselors face unique challenges when advising international students about their postsecondary options, according to a new report from NACAC.

The association’s  latest study, Supporting International High School Students in the College Admission Process, draws primarily upon interviews with 20 counselors from public and private schools, as well as the NACAC’s 2016 Counseling Trends Survey.

Interview respondents reported that international students often have difficulty understanding vocabulary and slang specific to the US college admission process. And counselors themselves said they were uncertain of how best to collaborate with agents —  professionals contracted by schools and universities to recruit international students or hired by families for college counseling services.

Continue reading More Training Needed for High School Counselors Serving International Students →

College Admission, Standardized Testing

Free ACT/SAT Exams Boost College Enrollment Rates

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College enrollment rates increase when high schools cover the cost of college entrance exams, new research suggests.

The finding — published by Education Finance and Policy — is based on a study of six classes of high school juniors who attended Michigan schools from 2003-04 to 2007-08. The state has required teens to take a college entrance exam since 2007.

“Overall, the policy increased the probability that students would enroll in college by about 2 percent,” according to an Education Week article about the new research. “Students at schools with higher poverty rates increased their college enrollment rates by 6 percent, and those students who had a low to middling probability of taking the ACT before the policy took effect saw their rates improve by 5 percent afterward.”

Continue reading Free ACT/SAT Exams Boost College Enrollment Rates →

College Admission

Campus Visit Tips for Moms and Dads

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Prospective students should take the lead during campus visits, but if parents are tagging along they also have a role to play.

An extra set of eyes and ears can prove invaluable, W. Kent Barnds, executive vice president of Augustana College (IL), wrote in a recent Huffington Post column.

And perhaps more importantly, moms and dads can help prepare their student to make the most out of the visit.

Continue reading Campus Visit Tips for Moms and Dads →

NACAC News

NACAC Member Retires After 67 Years Serving Students

After 67 years working with students, one of NACAC’s most experienced members has stepped away from the desk.

Lillian Orlich retired last month from her position as a counselor at Osbourn High School in Manassas, Virginia. She spent all but three years of her career serving students in the Manassas area, first as a teacher and then as a counselor.

“Her former students and counselees became doctors, lawyers, accountants, and landscapers,” according The Washington Post. “Manassas City Major Hal Parrish was in her social studies course in the late 1960s. NBA legend David Robinson checked into her office in the early 1980s.”

Continue reading NACAC Member Retires After 67 Years Serving Students →

College Readiness

Required Reading: More Colleges Assign Books Over Summer Break

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A growing number of colleges are using summer reading assignments to introduce incoming freshmen to the new ideas and topics they’ll encounter in their undergraduate courses, according to reports from The New York Times and Inside Higher Ed.

About 40 percent of college orientations include discussion of a common reading assignment,  the Times reported last month.

“The books are almost always tied to current events and often make strong statements on issues like immigration, race, and the perils of technology,” the article noted.

Two popular choices this summer include Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson’s memoir about prison reform, and Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates’ exploration of race in America, according to the Times.

J.D. Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy — an autobiographical look a rural poverty — is another popular read in a field dominated by titles that address racial or social issues.

Continue reading Required Reading: More Colleges Assign Books Over Summer Break →

Access, Advocacy, College Completion

Even on Welcoming Campuses, LGBT Students Face Hurdles to College Completion

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Colleges across the US have made major strides in their efforts to support lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students.

But a recent New York Times op-ed published by a University of Mississippi grad provides an important reminder that much work still needs to be done.

By his own admission, Dylan Lewis “thrived in college.” At the University of Mississippi he finally felt free to be himself. Lewis joined the student government, led campus tours, and felt safe and supported.

Yet despite a welcoming campus, Lewis— like many LGBT youth — faced unique challenges on his path to college completion.

Continue reading Even on Welcoming Campuses, LGBT Students Face Hurdles to College Completion →

Financial Aid, Paying for College

FAFSA Update: More Students File for Aid

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Will the FAFSA’s earlier filing date result in increased access to higher education?

New federal data is promising.

After a four-year decline, FAFSA completions are up for the high school class of 2017, the first cohort of students who were able to file for aid starting on Oct. 1 — a full three months earlier than previously allowed.

Continue reading FAFSA Update: More Students File for Aid →