No recommendations, no essays and sometimes no test scores

by Nancy Griesemer

 Central Florida requires no recommendations,

 no personal statement and no supplements.

Several years ago, the Common App announced that colleges would no longer be forced to conduct ‘holistic’ reviews of applicants to be members of the Common Application organization. On the simplest level, this was interpreted to mean that members would not have to require recommendations or untimed writing samples (essays) as part of the application process.

The change was enthusiastically greeted by colleges that never required these elements to begin with and wanted to join the Common App, as well as by those institutions that never really considered either the essays or recommendations anyway.  This was especially true of those that offered students very simple alternate applications without either element.  

And for some admissions offices, these requirements were considered unnecessary impediments to attracting large numbers of applications.  For others, the requirements didn’t seem to add much in the way of useful information, which could predict who would be most successful on their campuses.

In fact, the bottom line for everyone—highly selective and not-too-select institutions—is that grades and strength of curriculum are the most important factors in the admissions decision. The National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) has consistently come to the same conclusion in their annual State of College Admission reports, as has the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA) in its annual survey of IECs.  This holds true even though there is an acknowledgement that grades can be manipulated, inflated and are often subjective evaluations of student performance.

With new Common App membership requirements in place, a number of colleges and universities immediately took advantage of the moment to drop requirements.  Others simply expanded their application network and joined the Common App. As a result, there are Common App members that have stripped down their application requirements to the point of no essays, no recommendations, and sometimes no test scores.

According to the 2019-20 Common App requirement grid, out of 888 Common App members, about 45% do not require personal statements—the basic Common App essay. And just under 50% require no letters of recommendation (counselor or teacher).

And taking these all together, 327 Common App members require no personal statements, no teacher recommendations, and no counselor recommendations.  Among these are

• Arizona State University, AZ
• Christian Brothers University, TN
• College of Charleston, SC
• DePaul University, IL 
• Duquesne University, PA
• Frostburg State University, MD
• George Mason University, VA
• Johnson and Wales University (NC, CO, FL, RI)
• Kent State University, OH
• Ohio Northern University, OH
• Old Dominion University, VA 
• Ole Miss—The University of Mississippi, MS
• Ripon College, WI
• Roanoke College, VA 
• University of Arizona, AZ
• University of Iowa, IA
• University of Minnesota—Twin Cities, MN
• University of Pittsburgh, PA
• University of Utah, UT
• Valparaiso University, IN
• West Virginia University, WV
• Westminster College (MO, PA and UT)

By the way, 196 Common App members require no personal statements, no college-specific supplements, no counselor recommendations and no teacher recommendations—seven in Virginia!

And if you cross-reference this list with the very impressive list of test-optional/test-flexible institutions maintained by FairTest, you’ll find that a few of these schools also don’t require test scores.

So what is the takeaway?  Grades absolutely rule, and transcripts considered together with high school profiles are critical elements of the college admissions process.  In fact, for a fair number of institutions, they are the only criteria used for admissions.

Headlines from NACAC’s 2019 State of College Admission

by Nancy Griesemer

Every year, the Arlington-based National Association for College Admission Counseling(NACAC) surveys its members to get a picture of what’s happening in the world of college admissions. Their results are compiled in NACAC’s State of College Admission, which essentially examines the “transition from high school to postsecondary education” and features data collected from school counselors as well as admissions staff at colleges and universities across the country.

This year, 2345 school counseling offices responded to the Counseling Trends Survey (CTS), of which 85% were public, 6% private non-parochial and 10% private parochial. The Admissions Trends Survey (ATS) was subdivided into two parts—one went to admission offices and the other went to institutional research (IR) offices. NACAC received 447 institutional responses for an overall response rate of 35% out of 1263 colleges contacted.

While the report provides a good overall snapshot of the state of the college admission industry, a few specific headlines are worth noting:

1.      College applications increased by 6 percent. The Higher Education Research Institute reports that 36% of first-time freshmen applied to seven or more colleges. And according to the Admission Trends Survey, the average number of applications for each admission office staff member for Fall 2017 was 1035 for public institutions and 461 for private institutions. It’s no surprise admissions offices are increasingly turning to enrollment management software for support.

2.      Colleges and universities accept two-thirds of applicants. Despite how it feels to the average high school student, the average selectivity rate among colleges surveyed was 66.7% for Fall 2017. This rate has actually increased from a low of 63.9% in Fall 2012.

3.      Average yield rate holds steady after long decline. Over the past ten years, average yield (percent of students accepting an offer of admission) has steadily declined from 48% in Fall 2007 to 33.7% in Fall 2017. While yield rates mean little to most prospective students, accurately predicting yield is critical to admissions professionals hoping to avoid either over- or under-enrollment. Having this metric stay steady is a big deal for those charged with crunching the numbers.

4.     Email tops the list of recruitment strategies. Colleges have a wide range of tools available for connecting with prospective applicants. Not surprisingly, contacting them through email and engaging with them through the institution’s website or by hosting campus visits were the most “important.”

5.      Early decision applicants increased in 2018. Twenty-five percent of respondents to the Admission Trends Survey offer Early Decision (ED). Between Fall 2017 and Fall 2018, colleges reported an average increase of 11% in the number of ED applicants and 10% in ED admits.

6.      Early action also increased.Thirty-eight percent of colleges responding to the ATS offered early action options. For Fall 2018, 45% of applications to colleges with early action plans were received through EA. But average yield rate for EA admits was nearly identical to that of the overall pool (25% and 24% respectively). From Fall 2017 to Fall 2018, the number of EA applications increased by 10%, while the number of students accepted through EA increased by 9%.

7.      Likelihood of wait list acceptance remains low. While wait list activity generally increased, the odds of getting admitted from the wait list were still pretty low. For the Fall 2018 admission cycle, 43% of colleges reported using a wait list and placing an average of 10% of all applicants on the wait list. An average 50% of waitlisted students opted to stay on the wait list, while colleges admitted only about 20% of these hopefuls.

8.      Admissions offices identify grades and curriculum as top factors in admissions. For decades, academic performance in high school has been the most important consideration in freshman admission. In fact the relative importance of many admissions decision factors have remained “remarkably” stable over time. Notable exceptions would include the declining importance of class rank and interviews.

9.      Student-to-counselor ratios remain outrageous. According to the U.S. Department of Education, in 2016-17 each public school counselor was responsible for overseeing a caseload of 455 students, on average. This number greatly exceeds the 250:1 ratio recommended by the American School Counselor Association. Only New Hampshire and Vermont had ratios below the ASCA’s recommended standard (220 and 202 respectively). The states with the highest number of students per school counselor included Arizona (905), Michigan (741), Illinois (686), California (663) and Minnesota (659).

10.  Private schools devote more time to college counseling. College admissions counseling is only one of myriad responsibilities shouldered by school counselors. Counseling staff at private schools spend an average of 31% of their time on college counseling, while their colleagues in public schools spend only 19% of their time on that task.

NACAC reports nearly 500 fabulous colleges still admitting students for fall 2019

By:  Nancy Griesemer:

According to the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) nearly 500 fabulous colleges and universities are still admitting qualified freshman and/or transfer students for fall 2019. And many of these schools also have financial aid and housing to offer.

Now in its 32nd year, the College Openings Update is a wonderful search tool for counselors, parents and teachers as they work with students who have not yet completed the college application and admission process. The listing applies equally for students who may have gotten a late start on their applications as well as for those who weren’t totally satisfied with admissions results received by the May 1 response deadline observed by many colleges.

“The NACAC College Openings Update is a win-win for students and postsecondary institutions,” said Joyce E. Smith, NACAC’s CEO. “For example, some colleges and universities may face challenges in predicting how many students will accept an admission offer. They may find openings in their incoming freshman class for deserving students if their predictions are slightly off. This creates opportunities for students seeking a great match after May 1.”

Typically, colleges continue to join the Update after the public release date until the page closes on June 30. The Update is a voluntary “bulletin board style” listing for NACAC members, including domestic as well as foreign institutions. This year, over 90 percent of colleges on the fall 2019 Update are based in the U.S., although Canada, the United Kingdom and other countries are well represented.

Note that if an institution—of any description—does not appear on the list, it does not necessarily mean there are no openings.  Not every college chooses to participate.

Nevertheless, the NACAC list contains some amazing opportunities for students still open to offers.

For example, Appalachian State University (NC), Arizona State University, Baylor University (TX), Belmont University (TN), Drew University (NJ), Florida Atlantic University (FL),  Hofstra University (NY), Iowa State University (IA), New College of Florida (FL), Oregon State University (OR), Pennsylvania State University,  Ohio Wesleyan University, St. Joseph’s University (PA), the University of Delaware (DE), the University of Denver (CO), the University of Maryland (MD), the University of Oregon, the University of San Diego (CA), Xavier University (OH), and West Virginia University (WV) are posting space available for the fall.

And Chapman University, Providence College (RI), Rutgers University-New Brunswick, Salve Regina University (RI), Santa Clara University (CA), TCU (TX), the University of Connecticut, Ursinus College and the University of Miami (FL) have spaces for transfers.

But be aware that this list is highly fluid.  "Admission is an ongoing process for many institutions,” Smith has noted in the past.

Over the next several weeks, colleges will finish reviewing their incoming classes for vacancies and if they want to publicize openings, they will add their names to the Update.  Already, the list has risen from about 400 colleges when it was first published to nearly 500 colleges and universities, as of this publication. So keep checking back!

In addition to the NACAC survey, colleges still accepting applications may be found by searching the College Board, Common Application and Universal College Application (UCA) websites (specific instructions are found here). As of May 11, 2019, the Common App shows 430 members still open to new applicants, including Christopher Newport University, Eckerd College (FL), the Florida Institute of Technology, Jacksonville University (FL), North Carolina State University (NC), “Ole Miss,” St. John’s College (MD/NM), Stetson University (FL), the University of Missouri (MO), Widener University (PA) and Xavier University (OH).

The bottom line is that you need to move quickly.  Colleges will only entertain applications as long as they have space available.

And for the most up-to-date information on specific colleges, contact the admissions offices of the schools directly. You may be surprised how glad they are to hear from you!