All posts by Mary Stegmeir

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

Access Lacking for Black Students at Public Institutions

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Too many public colleges and universities fail to offer equitable access to black students, according to new findings from the USC Race and Equity Center.

The report, Black Students at Public Colleges and Universities: A 50-State Report Card, awards letter grades to public colleges and universities on four equity indicators for black undergraduates: representation equity, gender equity, completion equity, and black-student-to-black-faculty ratio.

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Report: Doors to Selective Public Colleges Open Wider to White Students

A new report from the Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce finds that despite being funded by all taxpayers, selective public colleges do not serve all segments of their states’ populations.

“In reality, the doors of these colleges are open wider to white students than to their black and Latino peers,” the report, Our Separate & Unequal Public Colleges: How Public Colleges Reinforce White Racial Privilege and Marginalize Black and Latino Students, states.

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Spread the Word: School Counselors Positively Impact College Access

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

Need another reason to celebrate National School Counseling Week?

A recent NACAC study confirmed that students who meet one-on-one with a school counselor are significantly more likely to attend college and apply for federal financial aid.

Study findings show that 12th graders who talked about their future plans with a school counselor were:

  • Seven times more likely to complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
  • Three times more likely to attend college
  • Two times more likely to attend a bachelor’s degree program

Delve into the data and use a PowerPoint presentation to share key findings.

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

Report: LGBTQ Students Not Safe at Most US High Schools

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What’s the school climate for LGBTQ students in your state?

According to GLSEN’s recently released State Snapshots report, high schools in all 41 states and Puerto Rico are not safe for most LGBTQ students.

More often than not, LGBTQ students do not have access to important school resources, such as LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum or student clubs designed to support LGBTQ students. In most cases, LGBTQ students are not protected by supportive and inclusive school policies.

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New Guide Seeks to Promote Greater Legal, Public Understanding of Holistic Admission

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What exactly is holistic review? Admission professionals hear this common refrain each year.

A new guide, Understanding Holistic Review in Higher Education Admissions, Guiding Principles and Model Illustration, explains key features and elements of the practice and addresses how institutions can effectively incorporate holistic review goals on their campuses.

Written by Art Coleman and Jamie Lewis Keith, the guide “provides insights into the values, logic, and rigor behind effective holistic review in higher education admissions,” the College Board said.

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Department of Education Simplifies FAFSA Verification Process

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The Department of Education recently announced changes to FAFSA verification aimed to help make the process less burdensome.

In lieu of IRS tax return transcripts and verification of non-filing forms, the guidance allows institutions to accept copies of signed income tax returns and written statements of non-filing from students who are selected for FAFSA verification. The changes are effective immediately and apply to both the 2018-19 and 2019-20 cycles.

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New Consortium Formed to Study Gap Year Outcomes

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A group of admission deans and researchers have banded together to form a new coalition dedicated to studying gap year outcomes.

The new Gap Year Research Consortium—based at Colorado College—will seek to determine how students who take an intentional gap year before college fare upon their return to the classroom.

“As long-time supporters of the gap year movement, we believe that creating a clearinghouse for the research that is going on at colleges and universities around the country is the logical next step in better understanding the positive outcomes that can come from taking a gap year,” Colorado College Vice President of Enrollment Mark Hatch said in a news release.

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Building a Better College Admission Process

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Busting college admission myths is an important part of any counselor’s job, but do the subtle messages sent by some high schools and colleges undermine efforts to get young people to embrace a more balanced approach during application season?

Last summer, NACAC member Lisa Micele shared tips for all those involved in the process with NPR’s Here & Now.  Her goal? To help students build a college list of no more than 10 schools, all of which they would be happy and proud to attend.

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