2014 Survey of College and University Admission Directors - Inside Higher Ed

Parent Cafe
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<p>I'm not sure if someone already posted this report (if so, can the mods please close this thread), but I thought it was worth sharing. </p>

<p><a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/survey/more-pressure-ever-2014-survey-college-and-university-admissions-directors"&gt;https://www.insidehighered.com/news/survey/more-pressure-ever-2014-survey-college-and-university-admissions-directors&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Gallup, via Inside Higher Ed, asked 406 admission directors a series of questions which ranged from how concerned they were about meeting their enrollment goals, to whether their institutions practice price gapping (not meeting financial need for some students), to if they believed "other higher education institutions" falsified admission data.</p>

<p>Some highlights from the summary (the full report can be downloaded at no cost):

[quote]
Last year, just under 60 percent of admissions directors said they had not filled their fall class by the traditional May 1 deadline. This year, that total was up to 61 percent.

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[quote]
Asked how concerned they were about meeting this year's enrollment goals, 47 percent of admissions leaders said they were very concerned (up from 46 percent last year) and another 32 percent reported that they were moderately concerned (up from 30 percent). Only 5 percent of admissions directors were not concerned at all. Among those at private bachelor's institutions, 57 percent were very concerned and only 1 percent were not concerned at all

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53% of public institutions and 63% of private institutions will devote more attention to internationals this year. </p>

<h2>55% of directors (39% for publics, 72% for privates) significantly gap students when issuing financial aid. Merit aid is often used by privates in lieu of simple grants.</h2>

<p>Parents of students who are or will be applying to college should realize that the vast majority of colleges are struggling to fill their classes. The admission landscape is not as competitive as is commonly presented by the media and this website. Rather, most colleges struggle to fill their freshmen classes and welcome all types of applicants, even those without perfect transcripts. However, getting enough financial aid will often be challenging, especially at a private school.</p>

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<p>However, what we commonly see on this web site are students who do not want to attend a college that is “beneath” them, thereby ensuring that there is no safety that they will be happy with. Sometimes, there may be parents who tell the student that the only acceptable colleges are those which are reaches for the student (or everyone). These students (or parents) are self-constraining themselves into a risky and stressful application strategy.</p>

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<p>However, considered in context with other groups of applicants, that is lower than the percentage which will devote more attention to:</p>

<ul>
<li>Recruited with non-need-based scholarships (public schools)</li>
<li>Full-time undergraduates</li>
<li>Transfer students</li>
<li>Minority students</li>
<li>First generation students (public schools)</li>
<li>Out of state students</li>
<li>Veterans and military personnel (public schools)</li>
</ul>

<p>Those groups where a lower percentage will pay attention to than international students are:</p>

<ul>
<li>Recruited with non-need-based scholarships (private schools)</li>
<li>Part time undergraduates</li>
<li>First generation students (private schools)</li>
<li>Full pay students</li>
<li>Veterans and military personnel (private schools)</li>
</ul>

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<p>I think that’s the “College Confidential Complex” in action, as @ucbalumnus‌ alludes to earlier. Spend too much time here you think that most people spend all of their time curating the perfect transcript and resume for their Harvard applications, and view Dartmouth and UPenn as “Safety Schools”. Most people aren’t like that but the people who aren’t don’t get interviewed by the New York Times about their college search experience, which creates the impression that applying to any college at all means that (at the very least) you must have several patents and life peerage from the Queen of England.</p>

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<p>It’s not so much that the schools are considered to be beneath them, but more because the cost has gotten so ridiculously expensive. When a supermarket is charging the same price for filet mignon and ground chuck, it’s natural to want filet mignon.</p>

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<p>Yeah, but it’s rarely the case that filet mignon and chuck would be the same price for any given student.</p>

<p>Yes, they may have the same list price, but the discerning consumer would be able to see that the chuck is heavily discounted for certain types of consumers.</p>