Higher Admission

11/08/2021

"But first-generation students include all races and ethnicities. So a college could, in theory, favor them in admissions and financial aid."

They are among the most price-sensitive students around, survey finds.

11/02/2021

If all these students are paying $50,000 in tuition, how come our college doesn’t have more revenue to spend?

11/02/2021

The National Education Equity Lab has created a model for helping low-income high school students and elite colleges connect. With philanthropists and universities partnering to provide college-level courses at no cost, many of the students have gone on to top colleges.

10/28/2021

"While these actions are a promising sign for college affordability, only a small number of schools are eliminating student loans from their financial aid packages as the student debt crisis continues to grow nationwide."

More colleges are following Princeton and Amherst's lead by removing student loans from financial aid packages altogether, offering grants instead.

10/28/2021

"The problem is that most families never look beyond the usual suspects in their geographic region or the name schools nationally. Depending on the student’s academic and extracurricular profile, they may be considered a much more desirable applicant somewhere else, and that desirability is often rewarded with money."

By Lee Shulman Bierer, College Admissions Strategies – Founder   Don’t feed the frenzied fever of the college admissions process. Families often get caught up in the high stakes of college admissions competition. If you’re willing to look beyond the super selective top tier of colleges, you.....

10/15/2021

"As more students have applied to college over the last several decades, selective institutions have barely increased supply, reducing their admittance rates and suggesting they value prestige rather than scaling with demand, according to new research."

A National Bureau of Economic Research working paper suggests that such a focus is socially inefficient.

10/14/2021

"According to Princeton Review’s survey of 14,000 college applicants and parents, 82% said financial aid would be “very” or “extremely” necessary to pay for college. Nearly all respondents – 98% said they would need some form of aid (grants, scholarships and/or loans) to fund the cost of the degree."

By Lee Shulman Bierer, College Admissions Strategies – Founder   While I typically focus on the ins and outs related to college admissions, there is always the underlying question of how to pay for this fabulous college education. I don’t normally recommend books or programs to assist in the co...

10/13/2021

"By both conducting in-depth interviews and embedding himself fully in the lives of both of these groups, Jack discovers that members of the privileged poor and the doubly disadvantaged lead very different lives. Both groups have significant challenges at elite institutions, with a common denominator being the simple lack of cash to cushion the college experience. (No university leader who reads this book will ever agree to close the dining hall during breaks ever again.)"

From access to inclusion.

10/08/2021

"America’s total number of students has declined by an unprecedented 2.6 million, or 13 percent, over the last decade. Another drop of 15 percent is projected, beginning in the mid-2020s, in the number of prospective college students graduating from high schools."

Record amounts are being spent on higher education marketing and advertising as enrollment numbers fall and competition among colleges rises.

10/05/2021

"Washington University currently does not admit as many students who need financial aid as many other institutions -- only 36 percent of students admitted this year and last needed aid. In 2020-21, the basic undergraduate tuition rate was $56,300, plus another $1,000 in required fees and average room and board of $17,402."

Institution, which has been criticized for not recruiting enough low-income students, commits $1 billion.

10/04/2021

"The total published cost continues to be a deterrent for students. This year 73% of students eliminated colleges from consideration because of the published cost. Only just over half of students said they would consider applying to a college whose cost was over $30,000."

This was the sixth year conducting the Niche Senior Survey, and completed responses were received from 19,277 students from the class of 2021. In total, there were 26,103 responses but students who had not made their college decision yet were disqualified since the focus is on the process of search....

10/04/2021

"Since mainstream media annually covers the college application scene at the same 25 colleges every year, other parents panic when one of these "good" colleges is not on their child's college list. This leads them to decide that an application to one or two of these schools is a good idea, since it doesn't hurt to "see what happens." This now takes part of the college selection process out of the hands of the student, who doesn't need to apply to know what will happen. Throw in the fact that most of the colleges in The List Of 25 admit under 20 percent of their applicants, and the recipe for college stress is complete, since students and parents are convinced that if that's case at these colleges, it must be true for all colleges."

The press needs to stop covering admissions as a game, writes Patrick O'Connor.