Why does American do the Mentorship Program for Spring admits?

On the surface, it looks like an interesting start to college. What kinds of students to “defer” to Mentorship? Do they use the mentor program to manage space on campus? To give lower stats students a chance to show what they can do? I feel like this was glossed over a bit in our info session and I want to understand the program in case that’s what decision is returned. Do Mentorship kids have the same transition to campus/first-year student experiences?

This is purely my opinion with no facts to back it up, but I believe it is a stats and revenue management tool for the university that also has benefits for the students who can afford it.

The benefits for the students are (a) a semester in Washington with some hands-on experience (b) all 15 credits transfer to AU for spring admission and © students can tell everyone that they attend AU (even though, technically, they aren’t AU students until the spring–but no one knows that). However, with no need-based or merit aid available, not everyone can afford to accept this opportunity (just like the rest of life!).

For the university, it provides a group of students who pay full tuition with no discounts or scholarships. That’s a nice chunk of money. Second, most college statistics (yield, enrollment, acceptance rate, average GPA, average SAT, etc.) capture only students who are admitted for the fall semester. So AU can defer admission to the spring, take the money, and pad the stats all at the same time.

But for those students for whom this is the best–and affordable–option, everyone wins.

I totally agree with every point made by pswillia. If money is not a big concern and the student has their heart set on AU, it’s a very good option.

To answer a specific question, the AU website says “You will live on AU’s campus in a residence hall, join AU student activities, and have access to all of AU’s student resources.” I think that Mentorship students live in Leonard Hall, a nice dorm on the quieter north side of campus.

@BlackCrow3 I agree with you but what doesn’t sit well with me is the fact that they don’t offer financial aid, even to students they know have significant financial need. Instead, they lumber those students and their families with loans. This is great for AU from a revenue management perspective, but is very unkind to students and families. The signal to me is that they don’t want the person unless they can pay full freight.