Archive for 'Applicants'

HomeApplicants

Tracking trends

Posted by:

Keeping up with what’s happening in higher education is easier said than done. So when articles like Nancy Griesemer’s “15 College Admissions Trends Worth Watching” comes out — it’s perfect for “on-the-go” counselors and directors of admissions.

Griesemer’s 15 trends come from the 2011 State of College Admission report provided by the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC). This collection of data from NACAC, the College Board and the federal government makes up a comprehensive document with significant information about college admissions. Here’s just a sampling of Griesemer’s list and what it means for admissions:

The total number of high school graduates is down. We’ll continue to see this decline through 2015. Enrollment and retention offices will be working ...

Continue Reading
4
NOV
1

Categories: Applicants, Branding/Marketing/Recruiting, Change, Data, Social Networking, Tracking

Ivy League trends and you

Posted by:

No other admissions process is watched as closely as the Ivy League’s. Decisions went out to students last week, and Kristina Dell of “The Daily Beast” identified admissions trends that surfaced for the colleges over this recruitment cycle.

According to Dell, many Ivies indicated a significant increase in applications this year, which was typical among colleges and universities across the nation. The acceptance of the Common Application, combined with students’ decisions to apply to 10 or 20 schools are prime contributors to this trend.

Two student populations with a higher percentage of applications among the Ivies were homeschooled and international students. Dell spoke with Jim Miller, dean of admissions at Brown University, on homeschooled applicants. He noted that, “These students are often ...

Continue Reading
8
APR
0

Categories: Applicants, International Recruiting

Peace in our time

Posted by:

Years from now, admissions officers may look back at 2011 as the beginning of the end of the Application Arms Race. And they may have Rick DiFeliciantonio to thank.

The Enrollment VP at Ursinus College has taken a stand against the easy app, deciding it’s better to focus on a smaller number of best-fit prospects than chase a larger pool of mostly mismatched applicants.

Like other schools, Ursinus got caught up a few years ago in the desire to increase its application pool. The Pennsylvania college waived the $50 fee, eliminated the essay question and adopted a marketing technique that reduces the application process to little more than filling out and returning a BRC.

Applications nearly tripled in just a few years. Success, ...

Continue Reading
18
FEB
0

Categories: Applicants, College Recruiting

Demystifing the Application Process

Posted by:

If you work on a college campus, you are an educator.  You may not teach a class as an admission professional, but you should take ownership to educate the school’s applicant pool.

Often we assume that people understand the process, but they don’t. We need to take time (either while on campus during a visit or via the web) to explain the process.

A recent email that went viral around the TargetX offices was this video from Centre College in Danville, KY. This is one way they educate their applicants.

Sure, it is a little tongue-in-cheek, but it is entertaining and it does educate their applicants on the process at Centre.

How ...

Continue Reading
20
JAN
1

Categories: Applicants, Campus Visit Experiences, Communication, Facebook, Videos

Crap App

Posted by:

Reading an article by Eric Hoover this morning in the Chronicle of Higher Education titled “The Curious Case of ‘Catnip’ and the Common Application” where a director of a school in Massachusetts calls these VIP applications “crap apps”.

Reminded me of a meeting a couple of years ago at a tuition-dependent, fairly expensive, moderately-competitive institution in one of the most densely populated college regions in the US.  In the room were the admissions director and his staff, the institution’s CFO, the vendor who provided a VIP app service to the college – and me.

The conversation centered around how successful the addition of the VIP service was to the college in bringing in a record number ...

Continue Reading
21
OCT
3

Categories: Applicants, College Recruiting, Student Yield