Admissions

Modern learners demand a change to the status quo, says study

Today's "modern learners" are choosing schools with a focus on careers, digital tools and flexibility, a new study finds.

These schools are pioneering AI in student recruitment

Despite colleges and universities slowly turning to AI for help with attracting students, their commitment to a "human-centered approach" is keeping some schools at shoulder's length in the application stage.

College destiny: Students list their hopes, worries and dream schools

Graduating high schoolers are 99% certain that a foray into higher education is going to work out but several factors contribute to high levels of stress during the college application process.

This new FAQ answers your questions about DEI laws

A new resource answers leaders' questions about Education Department's new laws prohibiting DEI programming.

Test-optional admissions may be hurting disadvantaged students, study says

A new study from Dartmouth College suggests that test-optional admissions policies may be making it harder for high-achieving students from disadvantaged backgrounds to get into top colleges.

Here are 3 major injuries inflicted by last year’s FAFSA on fall enrollment

About half of all surveyed private colleges and universities said their incoming class was “more difficult” to fill, and 44% reported a smaller incoming class, according to a survey from NAICU.

Use of AI in applications isn’t slowing down. Here’s why

Regardless of an institution's policies, 82% of students surveyed by Acuity Insights believe their peers will continue to use AI in the college application process.

Legacy admissions shut down at all California private colleges

California has become just the second state to ban legacy and donor preferences in admissions at private colleges and universities.

Most admissions officers say college rankings have ‘lost their luster’

A flood of college rankings have hit higher ed over the last several months, with varying degrees of acceptance or rejection. It's more of the latter emotion for one sector of higher ed.

From Acceptance to Arrival: Practical Strategies to Address Summer Melt in Higher Education

Date & Time: Wednesday, October 23rd at 2 pm ET

In this 20-minute UB Ed Talk, leaders from California College of the Arts (CCA) delve into the trends they've observed with summer melt and their practical initiatives that any campus can emulate to mitigate this challenge, including forming a task force that connects academic and administrative leaders in addition to analyzing key indicators along the student enrollment journey.

Admissions workloads are enormous. Here is how AI can help

Admissions offices are slowly integrating generative AI into their tool boxes to manage ballooning application pools while also easing staff burnout and other workload issues.

Lottery admissions: Are they feasible in an anti-DEI environment?

Colleges and universities creating new admissions standards that support socioeconomic diversity could introduce an "element of randomness," a report by Acuity Insights suggests.

ACT slim down: A look at the big changes the test is making

The newly shortened exam is designed to provide greater flexibility for students, who now face fewer questions and can choose whether to complete the science section.

How the enrollment underdogs are using summer to stay competitive

Adelphi University in New York is incorporating its pre-college summer programs into its admissions and recruitment process to woo students who find themselves enjoying a low-key campus life.

New Realities in Higher Education and How Leaders are Facing Them

Date & Time: Tuesday, July 30th at 2 pm ET

A President of a 4-year public HBCU institution, Deputy CIO of a private 4-year research institution, and Registrar of a public polytechnic Canadian institution will tackle enrollment cliffs, changing U.S. admission policies, Canadian international student caps, and the rise of AI by discussing approaches to improving student outcomes, increasing market competitiveness, and optimizing your technology investments.   

FAFSA fail creates “state of emergency” in West Virginia

College-bound West Virginia students can now qualify for the state’s largest financial aid programs without filling out the FAFSA application.

Digital Content Strategies That Boost Enrollment in the Age of AI

Date & Time: Tuesday, May 21st at 2 pm ET

In this 20-minute UB Ed Talk, learn how generative AI is impacting higher ed admissions marketing, as viewed through the lens of web content best practices. An expert in higher ed content strategy will provide practical takeaways for using this evolving technology effectively, and will describe some recent changes to the way search engines use AI to crawl, ingest, and interpret content.  

Amid FAFSA debacle, these higher ed leaders strive to ensure no student is left behind

College Possible, a nonprofit dedicated to servicing low-income and minority students through their higher education journey, has so far ensured that 56% of their students have filed for FAFSA, says CEO Siva Kumari.

Less hope schools will process FAFSA forms in time as blunders continue

Of 358 college and university leaders surveyed by ACE, 67% said they had little to no confidence they'd successfully process forms in the coming weeks.

College applicants dispel 3 narratives currently hounding higher education

Opinions from over 10,000 current college applicants and their parents suggest narratives surrounding higher education can differ vastly from those interested in attending U.S. institutions.

How colleges can encourage higher FAFSA form submissions

Not only could the headaches affect the number of students applying to one's institution, but they can also hurt the retention of one's first-generation students.

What leaders should know about the new digital SAT

It'll save students and educators about an hour of testing, for starters. Here's what The College Board told District Administration about the revamped exam.

The 4 trends shaping the admissions process in 2024, per report

Admissions management service Acuity Insights has identified some key trends shaping the higher education landscape this year and some of the best practices to implement to continue reeling in talented and diverse cohorts of students.

Which 2 groups can actually be hurt by the end of legacy admissions? One may surprise you

Murky data and secretive practices have prevented the public from understanding the true extent to which legacy admissions affect enrollment on a national scale.

This report plays devil’s advocate to the momentum on test-optional policies

After studying first-year Ivy-Plus students' admissions records and grades between 2017 and 2022, Harvard-based Opportunity Insights found that student's test scores are a far more significant predictor of collegiate success than their high school GPA.

FAFSA delayed until Dec. 31: How does this complicate your admissions team?

With the flurry of higher ed staff processing and packaging aid offers, reviewing financial aid appeals and counseling students on the changes, NASFAA is asking the Department of Education to work closely with financial aid offices to protect underresourced students from the lightning-quick turnaround. 

Nearly 80% of admissions officers were against the fall of affirmative action. How have they coped?

Despite the firm resolve of institutions to maintain similar student diversity benchmarks, nearly half (45%) said they were concerned about the difficulty of recruiting and retaining a diverse body, according to a new report by Acuity Insights.

Why the college essay will never be the same due to AI, related technologies

With an unclear purpose, students' proclivity to lie and emerging technologies that can create better prose out of generative AI text, what are admission offices to do with the college essay?

Here are 2 ways colleges are grounding their holistic admissions process

While holistic review can be interpreted differently depending on the institution, there is one common thread that links them. Bonus: Schools can take advantage of this strategy to avoid scrutiny from skeptics.

A quarter of students start the Common App but don’t follow through. Why?

Thanks to newly discovered data from researchers at the Annenberg Institute at Brown University, leaders can now pinpoint which student populations are more likely to fall out of applying—so the report suggests developing predictive analytics tools and targeted interventions.

How admissions offices worked around court rulings and tech trends to uphold core values

The Common App marks the latest front for colleges and universities to maintain their dedication to diversity and integrity amid emerging roadblocks.

Top 1% students are twice as likely to being admitted to Ivy-Plus schools, per report

While test scores are no longer a requirement across many institutions, such as the majority of Ivy Leagues, most students would not miss out on a chance to tip the scales in their favor. However, 99% of candidates must face an additional roadblock to their admission: not being sufficiently wealthy.

Several prominent universities end legacy admissions in light of affirmative action ending

The number of Pell-eligible and first-generation students has increased by 10% or more since Johns Hopkins University stopped legacy admissions in 2013.

Affirmative action reaction: Higher ed leaders weigh in on Supreme Court’s decision

Presidents, provosts and non-profits worry how the Supreme Court's decision will affect diversity in STEM, deplete liberal arts education's value and hurt our society as a whole.

Nearly 2,000 colleges aren’t requiring SAT or ACT scores for fall 2023

At least 78% of higher education institutions have already extended these policies through fall 2024 in anticipation of the pending U.S. Supreme Court decision on affirmative action.