College Admission

Admission Officers Share Advice They Give Their Own College-Bound Kids

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Editor’s note: A version of this post originally appeared on Admitted in March 2016. It’s being republished as part of NACAC’s Best of the Blog series.

The college search and application process continues this summer for rising seniors.

In a 2016 New York Times article, nine college admission officers offered a unique perspective on what lies ahead.

As parents themselves, the interviewees shared the advice they offer to their own college-bound children.

Continue reading Admission Officers Share Advice They Give Their Own College-Bound Kids →

College Completion, Financial Aid

Report: New Technologies Could Help Improve Financial Aid Process

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Financial concerns cause nearly 3 million students to drop out of college each year.

Researchers at Tyton Partners believe a student-centered approach to financial aid could help reduce those numbers. In a recent report, the Boston-based advising firm chronicled the challenges posed by the current system and examined potential solutions through a survey of more than 1,800 higher ed administrators.

Their take? Targeted communication could help improve the process for both students and colleges.

“According to administrators, the biggest challenges preventing students from accessing aid are lack of student engagement, lack of awareness, and insufficient financial aid,” the report notes. “All three of these issues are addressable through improved communication between the institution and the student.”

Continue reading Report: New Technologies Could Help Improve Financial Aid Process →

Cost of College, Paying for College, Post-College Outcomes

Report: Women Hold Two-Thirds of All Student Debt

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Women hold more student debt and take longer than men to pay it off, according to a recent report from the American Association of University Women.

“It’s encouraging that women are enrolling in college more than ever before, but at the same time they are taking on larger amounts of debt to pay for their dreams,” AAUW researcher Kevin Miller said in a press release. “Because of factors like the gender pay gap, debt that could be manageable ends up becoming unmanageable, particularly for women.”

Women now earn 57 percent of all bachelor’s degrees awarded by US colleges, but hold almost two-thirds of the country’s $1.3 trillion student debt.

Continue reading Report: Women Hold Two-Thirds of All Student Debt →

International Education, Transfer

A Closer Look at Reverse Transfer and International Students

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Nine percent of all international students in the US, or 95,000, were enrolled at community colleges in 2015-16, according to the Institute of International Education’s Open Doors report.

National data on the proportion of international students that start at community colleges upon initial entry to the US, versus those who start at a four-year college and then transfer to a community college, is currently unavailable. However, it’s clear from preliminary research that similar to domestic transfer students, international students reverse transfer from four-year colleges to community colleges, concurrently enroll in both, and swirl back and forth between the two.

Continue reading A Closer Look at Reverse Transfer and International Students →

College Admission

College Counselor Compiles Summer Reading List

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Looking for summer reading suggestions for yourself or the students you serve?

NACAC member Brennan Barnard has released his annual compilation of book recommendations.

The full list — featuring titles suggested by college admission deans and counselors — appears on The Washington Post website. Some selections are related to education, while other titles are simply good reads.

Continue reading College Counselor Compiles Summer Reading List →

College Admission, Uncategorized

Expert Insight: College Admission and the Class of 2017

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In a few short months, this year’s crop of high school grads will head to college.

How did the Class of 2017 decide where to matriculate?

NACAC’s immediate past president, Phil Trout, recently offered some insight based on his experience working with seniors at Minnetonka High School (MN).

Here are three takeaways from his interview with EAB:

Continue reading Expert Insight: College Admission and the Class of 2017 →

College Admission

Good or Bad, Meme Groups Now Play a Larger Role in College Admission

Gone are the days where students had to wait until freshman orientation to connect with one another. Now students have connected online before they ever arrive on campus.

The latest of these online forums are Facebook meme groups and nearly every major college in America has one.

Students use the groups to bond, chat, and connect through a shared sense of humor showcased through a series of student-created memes specific to each college.

As the groups have grown, they’ve become about more than just connection. They’ve also begun to play a role in the admission process, Mic reported recently.

Continue reading Good or Bad, Meme Groups Now Play a Larger Role in College Admission →

NACAC News

#NACACreads: For-Profit Colleges Examined in ‘Lower Ed’

Tressie McMillan Cottom

How do students interpret the value of for-profit colleges?

You may be surprised. Tressie McMillan Cottom — author of Lower Ed — certainly was.

While the high cost of attending for-profit schools automatically triggers concerns about debt and default for many college counselors, price is often viewed in an entirely different light by students.

“I was stunned to learn that students used high price to indicate institutional quality,” she tweeted during a Monday #NACACreads discussion of her book. “That alone subverts almost everything we know!”

Continue reading #NACACreads: For-Profit Colleges Examined in ‘Lower Ed’ →

Access, College Admission, College Completion

Share Advice For First-Gen Students

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What should first-generation college students know before they head to campus?

A new social media campaign organized by Better Make Room is encouraging college counselors and others to share their wisdom on Twitter.

Contribute your own tips by using #AdviceForFirstGen and #BetterMakeRoom in your tweets.

Tips already submitted include:

  • Find a mentor.
  • Don’t forget to renew your FAFSA every year.
  • When stressed, stop and smell the roses.

Continue reading Share Advice For First-Gen Students →

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