Welcome to a “new” world of college admissions
The world of college admissions is rapidly changing - and it’s staying the same. I know, that sounds silly and counterintuitive, but the fact is that much of what we hear about in the media these days simply doesn’t impact or change things for the majority of colleges and universities.
Keep in mind - the majority of colleges and universities admit the majority of students who apply.
What we often hear about are the policies from a small, minority of schools. Namely, these are the highly selective, or highly rejective, schools.
These schools will always have a long line of applicants, regardless of their cost of attendance. How strong is this in our culture? Consider the following example.
On Sunday, October 1 I attended the Colorado Western Slope College Fair in Aspen, CO. This outstanding event brought colleges and universities from around the country, and even schools from Canada and Europe. Over the course of four hours, students and families had the opportunity to introduce themselves to college admission representatives and attend workshops. Workshops included themes around the following:
Making college affordable: financial aid and scholarships
The road ahead: making the most of the junior and senior years
For the artistic souls: the intersection of visual arts and technology
Test optional: myths and facts of standardized testing
Small schools, big impact: why smaller can be better
Behind the scenes: how colleges make admissions decisions and the impact of the affirmative action ruling
Attendees at the Colorado Western Slope College Fair in Aspen, CO.
In all there were 30+ workshops offered, and some of them became filled with a standing room only audience. I attended one session called “Spread your wings: exploring out-of-state options” which included representatives from four schools - University of Iowa, Miami University (OH), CSU San Luis Obispo, and the University of Oregon. All four of these schools are publicly-supported and they stressed that they are seeking out-of-state students to balance their student body. This is especially important as some states simply do not have enough in-state students to fill their enrollment goals (looking at you University of Iowa) - and the out-of-state tuition prices don’t hurt either. Although schools can offer generous discounts to out-of-state students, ultimately non-resident students pay more than resident students, generally. Keep in mind that this is for public schools, whereas cost of attendance is the same for all students applying to a private school.
In their opening introductions, each representative took some time to talk about their schools in broad strokes. This is where having an effective pitch comes into play. These representatives attend dozens of different events every year so their presentations are well developed.
When the representative from Miami University introduced himself, he quickly added that their school is a “public Ivy”. Do you know what that means? Could you name other schools which make up such a list, if a list actually exists? Of course nearly every family knows the term “Ivy” represents eight of some the most highly-selective schools. So using the term was a way for them to brand themselves, and there is a reason why they promote the term for their school, which was coined in a 1985 book by Richard Moll called “The Public Ivies”. Ivy League schools have admission rates between 3.5 -7%. Miami University falls into a less selective category where they admit 87% of the students who apply.
Note that the Ivy League is an athletic conference. It’s like someone saying I want to go to a Big Ten school or I want to go to a WCC school. That isn’t how we usually think of selecting a school. And it also means we identify all eight schools through a similar lens just because of the athletic conference they are a part of. Would you consider Penn State University and Northwestern University to be the same type of school because they are both Big Ten schools? Or what about Gonzaga University and Pepperdine University because they are both in the West Coast Conference?
Consider the following 4 year graduation rates for the Ivy League schools:
Brown University - 86%
Columbia University - 87%
Cornell University - 86%
Dartmouth College - 86%
Harvard University - 86%
University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) - 86%
Princeton University- 89%
Yale University - 88%
So with an admission rate which is more than ten times these eight schools, where does the four year graduation rate for Miami University fall?
73%
Do these numbers change how you may think about a particular school?
The Changing Landscape of Admissions
It’s evident that admissions is changing and schools are trying out different strategies, and marketing, in order to attract a strong and diverse group of applicants and community of scholars. One idea that is gathering some steam is “direct admissions”.
Direct admissions generally refers to a streamlined college admissions process where students are admitted directly to a college or specific academic program without going through a more traditional, often more competitive, application process. The specifics can vary depending on the institution, but some offer direct admissions based on certain academic criteria, such as GPA, class rank, or standardized test scores. If a student meets these criteria, they are automatically admitted. Schools promote this as a way to tell students that there’s less stress with their process. If you meet their criteria then you will be admitted. For example, here’s what Virginia Commonwealth University tells students about their direct admissions program:
VCU is a private, non-profit institution so the direct admissions policy is good for any U.S. applicant.
The University of Idaho was one of the first schools to try out a direct admissions program in 2015. Outcomes show that they have seen an increase in first-year students t for both in-state students and overall enrollment.
More schools are jumping on board and some of them can be found on the Common App. As direct admission has grown among schools who already accepted the majority of applicants, more selective schools are taking notice.
Some schools conducting direct admissions include:
Virginia Commonwealth University (90% admission)
Austin Peay State University (93% admission)
Iona University (96% admission)
Augsburg University (76% admission)
George Mason University (90% admission)
Utica University (81% admission)
Keep in mind that community colleges have a specific type of direct admission - and that is open enrollment. What that means is that community colleges are open to all so there are no specific criteria around GPA, SAT, or such.
So is direct admissions a truly unique approach to admissions? Taking a look at the admission rates for the schools above, I would say that it is a rebranding of what was going to happen for a particular student any way. In all honesty, if you were a student with a 3.5 GPA and applying to VCU, you can pretty much be assured you were going to be admitted regardless of whether the direct admission policy is stated or not.
This is another example of how knowing the data for particular schools can be extremely helpful, especially around admission rates.
After all, the majority of colleges and universities admit the majority of students who apply.
I empower college-curious and college-bound students and families with the knowledge, tools, and confidence for college success. I will guide you through the complexities of college admissions and beyond, so you can create your boundless life.
Have a question or comment? Please leave it in the comment section below or contact me at mark@mastalskicoaching.com.
There’s no one way to do college.
Be Boundless.
