College Signing Day: Watch our Facebook Live Q&A

Decision Day is fast approaching.

May 1 is the deadline for students to accept an offer of admission at many institutions. And for the fifth year, Reach Higher—in coordination with Better Make Room—is encouraging schools and communities to host College Signing Day events in recognition of their students’ hard work.

Continue reading College Signing Day: Watch our Facebook Live Q&A

Study: March Madness Victors See Boost in Applications

Villanova Men’s Basketball Twitter

Call it the March Madness effect.

New research confirms what college admission officials have been saying for years: Impressive performances by student-athletes can spur increases in freshman applications.

“Research by Devin and Jaren Pope, two economists, has found that colleges whose men’s basketball teams qualified for March Madness, the sport’s championship tournament, saw a 2.4 percent average increase in the total number of applications, as measured by the number of SAT college-entrance exam results received,” according to a recent article published by The Economist. “Colleges whose teams made the Final Four saw a 5.8 percent increase in applications, while colleges whose teams won the entire tournament saw a 10.9 percent increase in applications in the year after their victory.”

Continue reading Study: March Madness Victors See Boost in Applications

Join Us for a Facebook Live Q&A about College Signing Day

College Decision Day — the deadline at many institutions for students to accept an offer of admission and make a tuition deposit – is coming up on May 1 and we want to celebrate with you!

For the fifth year, the Reach Higher and Better Make Room initiatives are encouraging schools and communities to host College Signing Day events in recognition of students’ hard work and achievements.

Tune in Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. ET to find out more about the College Signing Day tradition, how you can secure grant money for your school’s celebration, and more.

Continue reading Join Us for a Facebook Live Q&A about College Signing Day

Report: Millions of Americans Live in Education Deserts

iStock

Roughly 3.1 million Americans reside in education deserts, according to a recent report from the Urban Institute.

In other words, they live more than 25 miles from an open-access public college and lack the broadband Internet connection needed for online education. The resulting isolation acts as a barrier to higher education.

Continue reading Report: Millions of Americans Live in Education Deserts

Learn How to Evaluate Financial Fit with Financial Aid 101

Seniors are busy weighing their college choices, and for many students, that means decoding often-confusing financial aid award letters.

Get up to speed and gain the knowledge you need to confidently field college cost questions with Financial Aid 101 — NACAC’s new e-learning course.

Continue reading Learn How to Evaluate Financial Fit with Financial Aid 101

Arizona College Celebrates First-Gen Students

Courtesy of Arizona Western College

In an effort to combat stereotypes and poverty, one Arizona college has come up with a creative way to engage its largely first-generation student population.

Sixty-six percent of Arizona Western College’s nearly 8,000 undergrads identify as first-gen students. And according to recent data from the Community College Benchmark Project, 22 percent of Arizona Western’s students have annual family incomes of less than $20,000. The median family income for the school is $34,200.

Continue reading Arizona College Celebrates First-Gen Students

#NACACreads: Learn New Strategies to Help Students Succeed

Looking for a good book to curl up with over spring break?

Check out our next #NACACreads selection — The 160-Character Solution: How Text Messaging and Other Behavioral Strategies Can Improve Education.

A Twitter discussion of the book with author Benjamin Castleman is scheduled for April 18 at 9 p.m. (ET).

Continue reading #NACACreads: Learn New Strategies to Help Students Succeed

Occupational Outlook Handbook Helps Students Explore Careers

iStock photo
iStock photo

Editor’s note: A version of this post was originally published on Admitted in December 2015. It’s being republished as part of NACAC’s Best of the Blog series.

For Gail Grand’s students, the college search process is about more than just picking a campus.

Teens complete an aptitude and interest test and explore careers before ever submitting applications. The strategy is a smart one.

Fewer than four in 10 college students graduate in four years, federal data show. And as tuition rates continue to grow, extra years in school can often mean additional debt.

Tapping into resources like the Bureau of Labor Statistic’s Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH) helps teens make wise college choices, said Grand, an independent college counselor based in California’s Westlake Village. It also increases students’ likelihood of graduating on time, she noted.

Continue reading Occupational Outlook Handbook Helps Students Explore Careers

Regular updates on NACAC and the world of college admission counseling. For more information about NACAC, visit nacacnet.org.