Category Archives: College Admission

College Admission

Ode to an Admission Rep

2 Comments
iStock

My youngest children—twins my wife and I adopted in Kenya during our 14 years there—are just beginning the college search process.

They are now 16, and my daughter and I went on a college tour last week. We visited two large public schools and two small private schools. We got up at 3 a.m. to make a flight, and our first school was a very large public university. It was a great tour, and our rep had gone beyond expectations to make it personal for my daughter. But then, something extraordinary happened.

Continue reading Ode to an Admission Rep →

College Admission

How the Eagles Prepared Me for College Counseling

8 Comments
iStock

Full disclosure: I’m a Philadelphia Eagles fan.

No, not that kind.

I’m the respectful, stoic kind that wears my green gear with pride, only cursing division rivals under my breath when occasion demands. I cheer or cringe with every down, every week, even from two time zones away. For although Denver is my home, my hometown lies just outside Philly. The Eagles are my home team.

After witnessing an Eagles season filled with inspiring moments, generous athletes, and spirited end zone celebrations, we find ourselves here. Days away from what has eluded us for over half a century. Again.

It was during this most recent season that I recognized the parallels between my life as an Eagles fan and my career. Those same qualities intrinsic to Eagles fandom have, in fact, equipped me for college counseling.

Continue reading How the Eagles Prepared Me for College Counseling →

College Admission, Standardized Testing

ACT to Launch Free Test Prep Tool

Free test prep materials will soon be available online for students preparing to take the ACT.

The Iowa-based testing company announced this week that it would launch ACT Academy in the spring. The platform will include video lessons, interactive practice questions, full-length practice tests, and educational games.

Each student will receive a personalized study plan based on their scores from the ACT test, the PreACT, ACT practice tests, or diagnostics completed within the ACT Academy platform.

Continue reading ACT to Launch Free Test Prep Tool →

College Admission, International Education

Colleges Contend with Cuts Following Declines in International Student Enrollment

iStock

US colleges experiencing declines in international student enrollment are beginning to feel the crunch, according to a recent New York Times article.

Preliminary figures from the Institute for International Education (IIE) showed a 6.9 percent decrease this fall in the number of international students studying in the US.

The downturn comes on the heels of “a decade of explosive growth in foreign student enrollment,” according to the article.

“Just as many universities believed that the financial wreckage left by the 2008 recession was behind them, campuses across the country have been forced to make new rounds of cuts, this time brought on, in large part, by a loss of international students,” the Times noted. “Schools in the Midwest have been particularly hard hit — many of them non-flagship public universities that have come to rely heavily on tuition from foreign students, who generally pay more than in-state students.”

Continue reading Colleges Contend with Cuts Following Declines in International Student Enrollment →

College Admission, College Readiness

Member View: Foster Acceptance in the New Year

iStock

A brand new year, a brand new you?

Across the country, millions of Americans are setting resolutions — vowing to build good habits and break bad ones over the next 12 months.

Hit the gym? Eat right? Unplug? All valid goals, says NACAC member Brennan Barnard.

But for college-bound students, he’d like to add one more to the list.

“In 2018, I am resolving to foster acceptance, and will encourage my students to do the same,” Barnard, who works at The Derryfield School (NH), wrote in a recent column published by The Huffington Post.

Continue reading Member View: Foster Acceptance in the New Year →

College Admission

Report: Enrollment Slide Continues in US Higher Ed

iStock

The number of students enrolled in postsecondary education fell for the sixth straight year, according to data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.

Enrollments in US higher education dropped by 1 percent from fall 2016 to fall 2017, a loss of nearly 200,000 students. Notable decreases were recorded among first-time college students, which experienced an overall decline of 2.3 percent.

The decrease in the new-to-college category was seen among both traditional-aged and adult students.

Continue reading Report: Enrollment Slide Continues in US Higher Ed →

College Admission

Member View: Application Process Leaves Students Stretched Thin

iStock

NACAC member Nicholas Soodik has seen the trend with his own eyes.

As college acceptance rates have declined over the last decade, many students feel compelled to apply to more and more colleges. The shift has changed the application process for college-bound teens, and not necessarily for the better, Soodik noted in a recent column published by Inside Higher Ed.

“Students have to balance being successful high school seniors while working on college applications, many of which include supplemental writing sections,” writes Soodik, assistant director of college counseling at The Pingree School (MA). “The applications add stress, and we live in a cultural moment when anxiety diagnoses, rates of depression, and sleep deprivation among teens are rising. We ought to worry about how college applications contribute to these problems.”

Continue reading Member View: Application Process Leaves Students Stretched Thin →

College Admission, Standardized Testing

Testing Companies to Offer More Free Score Reports to Low-Income Students

iStock

New policies unveiled this week by ACT and The College Board will reduce the fees low-income students encounter in the college admission process.

Starting in September, students who use a fee waiver to register for the ACT will be able to send up to 20 free score reports to the institutions of their choosing. Previously, ACT test-takers were allotted only five free reports, with each additional transmission costing $13.

Under the new College Board policy — which goes into effect next spring — low-income students who take the SAT will be able to send unlimited score reports to colleges. Previously, low-income SAT test-takers were allotted up to eight free score reports, with additional transmissions costing $12 each.

Continue reading Testing Companies to Offer More Free Score Reports to Low-Income Students →

College Admission, College Admission in the News

Year in Review: ‘Admissions Live’ Will Examine the Top Trends of 2017

iStock

What a year it’s been!

Review the highs, the lows, and everything in-between Monday during a special year-end episode of Admissions Live.

Host Adam Castro will be joined by Eric Hoover, a senior writer at The Chronicle of Higher Education; and Jon Boeckenstedt, associate vice president of enrollment management and marketing at DePaul University (IL). Together, they’ll identify the topics that got professionals talking this year and discuss how those trends will impact the field in the future.

Continue reading Year in Review: ‘Admissions Live’ Will Examine the Top Trends of 2017 →