Want to help students and families make the most out of their visit to a National College Fair?
A video from NACAC takes viewers behind the scenes, showing them how to prepare for the event and what to expect at the fair.
Continue reading New Video Highlights NACAC’s National College Fairs
Editor’s note: A version of this post originally appeared on Admitted in March 2016.
Spring break is just around the corner at high schools across the country and many juniors will use the time to check out college campuses.
For one dad, the season brings back fond memories. L. Jay Lemons recently shared tips for making the most out of campus visits.
Lemons, president of Susquehanna University (PA) — a NACAC member institution — knows of what he speaks. In addition to leading a liberal arts institution, in recent years he’s toured dozens of college campuses as a parent.
Parents, take note: Admission officers can tell when you pretend to be your child on the phone.
And butting in to answer questions directed at your son or daughter during a campus visit does more harm than good, a recent survey of more than 350 US admission officers shows.
Overall, 75 percent of survey respondents said that parents should only be “somewhat involved” in the college admission process.
Continue reading Survey: Students (Not Parents) Should Drive College Admission Process
A new study confirms what many admission professionals already know —students are cost-conscious when selecting a college.
Nearly 19 percent of students who turned down the chance to attend their top-choice school in 2016 did so because of the cost of attendance, according to new data from Royall & Company, a firm that assists colleges with enrollment management and fundraising.
“I think enrollment leaders and the public in general have had a suspicion that cost factors were driving a lot of enrollment decisions,” Royall’s Managing Director Peter Farrell told Inside Higher Ed. “This verifies it in an empirical way.”
Could a new college admission exam be on the horizon?
The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) is testing the waters, according to a recent blog post published by Education Week.
The consortium — representing 15 states — oversees an online assessment system aligned to the Common Core State Standards. But the group is apparently looking to expand its offerings.
Continue reading Smarter Balanced Explores College Admission Testing
Nearly four in 10 colleges have seen drops in applications from international students, and recruitment officials report that families are exhibiting “a great deal of concern” about how their students will be treated in the US, according to early findings from a recent survey of more than 250 US colleges and universities.
The survey — conducted last month by AACRAO in cooperation with NACAC, International ACAC, and three other higher education associations — shows that 39 percent of respondents reported an overall drop in international applications for fall 2017, with the highest number of institutions reporting declines in applications from the Middle East.
Institutions also reported drops in applications from students in India and China. Currently, those two countries are home to nearly half of all international students studying in the US.
Coalition building and collaboration at the federal level may help lead the charge for equity-centered admission and higher education policies.
That assessment was shared last month by panelists and attendees at a Washington, DC, event marking the release of a new white paper examining racial equity and barriers to postsecondary education for minority students.
The paper was released by the Young Invincibles, a bipartisan nonprofit focused on the needs of young people ages 18-34. Through policy research and analysis, the organization advocates for a broad range of policy priorities, including access to postsecondary education — a crucial element for this age group.
Continue reading Breaking Down Barriers: New White Paper Examines Racial Equity in Higher Ed
Editor’s note: A version of this post was first published on Admitted in March 2016.
What are your plans for next year?
It’s a query that college-bound seniors across the country will be asked a multitude of times in the weeks and months ahead.
But what happens when the questions become overwhelming? Last year the hosts of Awesome Etiquette — a podcast produced by American Public Media — discussed polite ways to deflect overly intrusive college admission questions.
The topic was raised by high school senior Amy Mercedes, who asked show hosts Lizzie Post and Daniel Post Senning how she should respond to questions from adults and peers about her college list, grade point average, college essay, and SAT scores.
Continue reading Etiquette Advice for Students Facing Questions about College
The Southern region is set to produce the largest number of high school graduates in the US over the next 15 years, according to the latest enrollment projections from the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE).
Although the overall number of high school graduates in the US is predicted to decrease, Southern states (highlighted in yellow in the figure below) will see a significant increase in their number of public and private high school graduates. Specifically, Florida, Texas, Georgia, and Oklahoma will experience the largest growth.
Continue reading Report: High School Graduates from Southern States Projected to Increase
The ACT will soon begin offering a summer test date for college-bound students.
The Iowa-based testing company announced this week that its first summer test will take place in July 2018. The addition will bring the total number of ACT test dates offered each year from six to seven.