Equity and justice are important in all aspects of life, but absolutely vital in college admission.

NACAC members Ethan Sawyer, The College Essay Guy, and Marie Bigham, the founder of the ACCEPT: Admissions Community Cultivating Equity and Peace Today Facebook group, recently recorded a podcast episode on the ways school counselors and college admission professionals can work toward these goals.

Secondary:

“Learn about all the post-secondary education opportunities in your region including 2-year colleges, trade colleges, HBCUs, Tribal Colleges, and minority-serving institutions. Make a goal of researching at least one college that falls into one of these categories a week. Visit, if you can!”

“Assume that all families will have questions about paying for college. Don’t marginalize those who need aid by making “financial aid” a separate program; incorporate info about paying for college in all of your programs and communications.”

Postsecondary:

“Host evening/weekend information sessions at libraries or community centers, rather than at private schools or hotels. Make sure that public transportation is readily available, too.”

“Is your tour guide/admissions ambassador/student host program representative of all voices and experiences? If your tour guides aren’t reflective of your campus community, why not? What are the barriers to participation? For example, at my alma mater, being a tour guide was a volunteer position and required a fair amount of time. Being a tour guide would have cut into my work-study time, so I couldn’t participate.”

Read the full list of ideas and listen to the podcast.

Ashley Dobson is NACAC’s communications manager for content and social media. You can reach her at adobson@nacacnet.org.