What trends have you noticed in admissions?

College Admissions

Our Counselors Answered:

What trends have you noticed in admissions?
Rod BugarinFormer Admissions OfficerColumbia, Brown, and Wesleyan University

What trends have you noticed in admissions?

Here is my video response to the question.

Rod BugarinFormer Admissions OfficerColumbia, Brown, and Wesleyan University

What trends have you noticed in admissions?

Here is my video response to the question.

James MontoyaVice President of Higher EducationThe College Board

What trends have you noticed in admissions?

Here is my video response to the question.

MacKenzie LeFort

Trends

The higher your SAT/GPA is the better odds your going to get into the college you want to.

王文君 June ScortinoPresidentIVY Counselors Network

Financial concerns and international diversification boom

when you heard the president of the university saying that having more than 500 students from China is part of the university diversification not financial gain at one year as freshman class, you will know exactly what I am talking about. if you would like to enjoy such diversification at US campuese, you will not be one of the many US students dropping out classes from your Chinese classmates.

Ellen [email protected]OwnerEllen Richards Admissions Consulting

Trends in College Admissions

The new report from the National Association of College Admissions Counseling on 2011 State of College Admissions reports 15 things to know about what’s happening now in college admissions: 1. The number of high school graduates peaked in 2008 at 3.3 million and will continue to decline through 2014-15, but the number of students enrolled in college is expected to continue to increase until at least 2020. 2. Approximately 20.4 million students are enrolled in college and that number is expected to swell to 23 million by 2020. 3. In every year since 1976, women have completed high school at a greater rate than men. Currently the gap is 1.2 percentage points. 4. Fifty-six percent of enrolled college freshmen are female. 5. During the last admission season, colleges and universities were accepting slightly fewer applicants. The typical school accepted 65.5% of its applicants. Back in 2001, the average acceptance rate was 71%. 6. Seventy-three percent of colleges and universities in 2010 experienced an increase in applications from the previous year. 7. One out of four teenagers submitted seven or more college applications. 8. The average application fee was $40. Larger institutions and more selective colleges tended to impose higher fees. 9. The typical school’s admission yield was down. Yield refers to the percentage of applicants that a college accepts who ultimately end up attending the school. The latest yield is 41% versus 49% in 2001. The shrinking yield is not surprising since students are applying to more schools. 10. Colleges typically spent $585 to recruit each applicant during the 2010 admission season. 11. Forty eight percent of schools used a wait list. Wait lists were far more popular with selective schools that accept fewer than 50% of its applicants. More than 63% of those schools used a wait list compared with less than 12% of schools that accept 50 % to 70% of its applicants. 12. The acceptance rate gap between those who apply early decision versus regular decision has shrunk. The acceptance rate for students who applied early decision was 57% versus 50% for regular-decision applicants. 13. While the college admission landscape has become tougher to navigate, getting help from high school counselors remain challenging. NACAC notes in its survey that federal statistics indicates that the average counselor/student ratio is 460:1. 14. The average public high school counselors spend just 23% of their time on college counseling, while the average private school counselors devote about 55% of their time to college issues. 15. Only 26% of public schools have at least one counselor who works exclusively on college counseling issues. In comparison, 73% of private schools have a dedicated college counselor.

Nancy MilneOwnerMilne Collegiate Consulting

Admission Trends

One of the most challenging trends lately has been the shear volume of applications received by institutions. Between the Common Application making it easier to apply to multiple schools, concerns over financial aid award decisions, and the importance of a degree for future success; admissions offices are experiencing higher yield rates. Admissions offices are also relying on social media to connect with prospective students. These teenagers have grown up with technology as a part of their life, so glossy view books and snail mailings may not appeal to this audience. There has also been a slow increase in the number of schools who are going test-optional. One can only hope that this trend will continue to grow, as studies show that the high school transcript is a much better predictor of success in college.

Nancy MilneOwnerMilne Collegiate Consulting

Admission Trends

One of the most challenging trends lately has been the shear volume of applications received by institutions. Between the Common Application making it easier to apply to multiple schools, concerns over financial aid award decisions, and the importance of a degree for future success; admissions offices are experiencing higher yield rates. Admissions offices are also relying on social media to connect with prospective students. These teenagers have grown up with technology as a part of their life, so glossy view books and snail mailings may not appeal to this audience. There has also been a slow increase in the number of schools who are going test-optional. One can only hope that this trend will continue to grow, as studies show that the high school transcript is a much better predictor of success in college.

Reecy ArestyCollege Admissions/Financial Aid Expert & AuthorPayless For College, Inc.

What trends have you noticed in admissions?

The standards are getting tougher. Additionally, there has been some relaxation in ED conditions.

Kris HintzFounderPosition U 4 College LLC

What trends have you noticed in admissions?

The National Association of College Admission Counseling (NACAC) conducts an annual admissions trends survey. In recent years, one of the factors becoming more important in the admissions decision, according to this annual study, is “demonstrated interest.”

As more pressure is placed on admissions counselors to predict their enrollment “yield,” they are more concerned with how genuinely interested each applicant is in their school. In other words, if they offer you acceptance, how likely are you to actually enroll? This trend has strong implications for applicants. It is important to show commitment to the school when answering supplemental essays. It is important to visit the school (and mention your visit in your essays), demonstrate that you have met with admissions reps who come to your local area, and seek out the opportunity to do an interview (even a non-evaluative one with an alum).
Annie ReznikCounselor/CEOCollege Guidance Coach

What trends have you noticed in admissions?

The prevailing trends in higher education all relate to the economy. Individual students and families are applying to a greater number of schools, considering public universities more, and waiting for financial aid offers before making final decisions. In an economic downturn, enrollment is vital to the sustainability of institutions. Many institutions are shifting from a “need blind” admission process to a “need aware” process which factors a family’s finances into the final outcome. And, though financial aid packages may be leaner merit aid may be used more widely and aggressively to attract high caliber students.

Carita Del ValleFounderAcademic Decisions

What trends have you noticed in admissions?

During this last admission cycle there seems to be a trend in students applying to early action or early decision instead of the regular deadlines as well as student applying to more colleges than ever before.

Patricia KrahnkePresident/PartnerGlobal College Search Associates, LLC

It’s All About the Money

Short Answer:

It used to be about people. Now it’s all about the money. And it doesn’t stop at admissions… Detailed Answer: There are many trends, most of them negative. 1. Technology has rendered moot most personal interaction between colleges and prospective students. 2. College administrations are placing enormous pressure on admissions departments to admit students whose families can pay out-of-pocket. 3. Low income and middle class families are expected to come up with more and more money to fund their child’s education. A few years ago the average yearly EFC was around $3-5,000.Now it is around $10-15,000. 4. Institutions are spending more on marketing to international students (who pay out-of-pocket and often receive thousands of dollars of tuition discounts) than they do on scholarships to support low income American students. They talk about international students as being desirable because they create diversity on campus. However, the truth is that they bring a great influx of money to institutions. If colleges were truly looking for diversity, there is plenty of it in this country to draw from and support. 5. Facebook is being used by colleges to connect accepted students to one another before they arrive on campus in the fall. This trend is seen by the public as a means of connecting people socially; however, to the college, creating a feeling of community online is a means of ensuring that students 1) won’t be wooed away by another college and, 2) will actually arrive on campus and matriculate. This has both positive and negative aspects. On the positive side, students feel less alone with the idea of coming to college. By the time they arrive for orientation, they already “know” a few fellow students, which can make the transition easier. But this can backfire, too. Students may have a false sense that these people are their “friends,” and as such they may place too much trust in individuals they don’t really know at all. 6. Private colleges with big endowments can often afford to give large scholarships. Public colleges, on the other hand, generally can’t.
Pamela Hampton-GarlandOwnerScholar Bound

What trends have you noticed in admissions?

It is precarious and the price continues to rise and the selection process becomes more rigorous as the dollars diminiish

Bill PrudenHead of Upper School, College CounselorRavenscroft School

What trends have you noticed in admissions?

In the over twenty years I have been involved in college admissions work, I have seen colleges move away from seeking well rounded students to seeking well rounded classes, so that a student who stands out due to a particular passion or skill is often a more attractive applicant. Too, I have also seen an increase in the impact of outside forces–especially rankings and concerns about public identification–on the admissions process. Indeed, there has been a marked increase in marketing with an eye to a school’s place in the annual media-produced rankings. The ever greater concern about selectivity has led to increased efforts to attract more appplicants even when they are admitting no more of them. To me these are disturbing trends for while there is no denying that there are institutional needs, these efforts seem institutionally self-serving, reducing the aspiring applicants to little more than pawns in a game of one upsmanship .

Patricia KrahnkePresident/PartnerGlobal College Search Associates, LLC

What trends have you noticed in admissions?

Short Answer:

It used to be about people. Now it’s all about the money. And it doesn’t stop at admissions… Detailed Answer: There are many trends, most of them negative, and they may very well affect you and your college experience. 1. Technology has rendered moot most personal interaction between colleges and prospective students. 2. College administrations are placing enormous pressure on admissions departments to admit students whose families can pay out-of-pocket. 3. Low income and middle class families are expected to come up with more and more money to fund their child’s education. A few years ago the average yearly EFC was around $3-5,000.Now it is around $10-15,000. 4. Institutions are spending more on marketing to international students (who pay out-of-pocket and often receive thousands of dollars of tuition discounts) than they do on scholarships to support low income American students. They talk about international students as being desirable because they create diversity on campus. However, the truth is that they bring a great influx of money to institutions. If colleges were truly looking for diversity, there is plenty of it in this country to draw from and support. 5. Facebook is being used by colleges to connect accepted students to one another before they arrive on campus in the fall. This trend is seen by the public as a means of connecting people socially; however, to the college, creating a feeling of community online is a means of ensuring that students 1) won’t be wooed away by another college and, 2) will actually arrive on campus and matriculate. This has both positive and negative aspects. On the positive side, students feel less alone with the idea of coming to college. By the time they arrive for orientation, they already “know” a few fellow students, which can make the transition easier. But this can backfire, too. Students may have a false sense that these people are their “friends,” and as such they may place too much trust in individuals they don’t really know at all. 6. Private colleges with big endowments can often afford to give large scholarships. Public colleges, on the other hand, generally can’t.