Editor’s note: NACAC member Kasey Urquídez found herself in a unique position this fall — heading up the admission office at the same university where her daughter was embarking on her freshman year. The experience offered Urquídez an up-close-and-personal look at what comes after admission and how a campus community can help make (or break) promises made during the recruitment cycle.
As I reflect on my daughter’s first year of college, I am grateful for the little things. As vice president for enrollment management and dean of admissions at the University of Arizona (UA), it may seem silly for me to write about my own child’s first year at UA, but I feel compelled to share her experience. Why? Her freshman year ultimately offered her everything a parent could want for their child. And as an admission professional, her experiences provided the opportunity to see first-hand the way my university was able to make good on promises made in the recruiting cycle—something all enrollment leaders want.
NACAC issued a statement this week in support of the US Supreme Court’s decision not to hear arguments in Doe v. Boyertown Area School District.
The court case centers on a Pennsylvania school district’s policy permitting students to use the restroom of their choice. By declining to hear the case, the Supreme Court let stand a lower court’s ruling that sided with the district’s decision to allow students to use the bathroom matching their gender identity.
Finding the “right fit” college can be a stressful and confusing process for students and families. Students often do not know how to find the “right fit” or what that even means.
To mitigate this uncertainty, some students turn to college rankings and the selectivity of an institution as indicators of quality. But this approach can be problematic as each student has a unique set of needs, goals, dreams, and desires in their college selection process that may not accurately be reflected in a college’s rank.
A new report from the Center for Community College Student Engagement (CCCSE) finds that a productive and positive mindset can change a student’s intelligence, confidence, and increase levels of engagement.
Financial aid award letters have long been a topic of conversation within the college admission counseling profession, and as discussions about reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA) intensify, Congress seems poised to join the conversation.
Last month, Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Tina Smith (D-MN), and Joni Ernst (R-IA) introduced the Understanding the True Cost of College Act of 2019 — stand-alone legislation intended to be included as part of the larger HEA reauthorization.
If passed, higher education institutions would be required to use a uniform financial aid offer form containing standardized definitions. According to the bill’s sponsors, the move is intended to ensure colleges provide information to students and families in “a consumer-friendly manner that is simple and understandable.”
There are many issues and challenges facing international and first-generation college students in the college admission process and as they work to earn their degrees.
But one student is taking those challenges and using them as the basis for her new education tech start-up.
Community college presidents are still concerned that a lack of clear pathways for community college students to transfer two years’ worth of credit is a significant barrier to students transferring to four-year colleges to earn a bachelor’s degree.
Teenagers are stressed. And pressured. And anxious. And overwhelmed.
According to a recent study, 45 percent of teenagers in the US are stressed “all the time.” And though anxiety levels have risen in teens across all backgrounds, it has risen more among teens in affluent areas.
In an essay for Philly magazine, Tom McGrath explores the idea that “it’s the kids with the seemingly endless opportunities who are most anxious about their futures.”
The number of colleges still accepting applications for Fall 2019 continues to grow.
More than 500 institutions have openings, financial aid, and housing available to qualified freshmen and/or transfer students, according to NACAC’s College Openings Update.
When survey data was first posted on May 3, the list included just over 400 colleges and universities. Since that time, dozens of additional institutions have added their information. The update, which includes public and private schools, continues to be modified by colleges and universities.
