This book is about addressing the college-choosing problem. The rankings, metrics, analytics, college visits, and advice that we use today to help us make these decisions are out of step with the progress individual students are trying to make. They don't give students and families the information and context they need to make such a high-stakes…

This brief is one in a series aimed at providing K-12 education decision makers and advocates with an evidence base to ground discussions about how to best serve students during and following the novel coronavirus pandemic. It addresses one central question: How can schools and districts help students make well-informed choices about college? In…

The District has received the FY20 high school graduates' college matriculation data from the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC). The Department of Research & Evaluation (DRE) has performed a preliminary analysis of college enrollment for students who graduated from the District between FY16 and FY202, persistence rate for students who…

Extensive research shows that non-formal science education programs effectively build and sustain long-term interest and persistence in science careers. Framed by expectancy-value theory, this study examined the academic and career outcomes of students who participated in a multi-year volunteer program at a science museum. Twenty-one participants…

While Black students have experienced significant growth in college enrollment since the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Higher Education Act of 1965, they are still less likely than their white counterparts to attend and graduate from a post-secondary institution (Ryan & Bauman, 2016). There have been previous studies on college…

Profession selection is one of the most important decisions for human beings. Since the professions can generally be achieved via higher education, determining the most proper higher education becomes an important decision problem. In order to select the best higher education program, there are various criteria to be considered. Hence the main…

This multiple case study examined the experiences and practices of college advising professionals from several in-school models to help inform future policy on college advising in public high schools. The experiences of the college advising professionals were unique to the college advising initiative and high school context where the professional…

The role small learning communities (SLCs) play in education was an essential factor in understanding the influences of student learning in secondary education. Drawing on the attribution theory, a newly developed model was established that argued socialization, coupled with various resources, influences students' decision to select college majors…

This study explores how the college-going culture at a no-excuses charter school with high college enrollment rates shaped students' worldviews and trajectories. Drawing on 7 months of ethnographic fieldwork, I found that the school boosted college enrollment through student compliance to the college accountability policies rather than through the…

Lackluster BA completion rates have made it clear that improving postsecondary outcomes in the U.S. is not simply a matter of raising college enrollment rates. In addition to increasing the number of people who attend college, it is also important to increase the number of people who graduate. Over the years, scholars have identified many factors…

When choosing a college, high school students and those who guide them through the process must consider the complex interactions between student-level and institution-level variables in order to achieve an optimal person-environment fit. Ten academically advanced high school students who had chosen and committed to attending a college…

Empirical studies on university choice and access among under-represented racial/ethnic minorities have utilised the concept of school-based social capital (SBSC)--defined by Stanton-Salazar as key resources and support provided by institutional agents (i.e. teachers, counsellors and other staff). They primarily relied upon minority students'…

College counseling has become an increasingly significant part of high school counselors' jobs, but too often, they focus primarily on college access, without paying attention to whether students are choosing the appropriate college for them. Gorana Ilic, James Rosenbaum, Isabelle Matthies, and Lynn Meissner interviewed counselors to better…

Parents and high school counselors play a tremendously influential role during a student's college search. But how has that support changed during the COVID-19 crisis? This white paper from RNL looks at new survey results of parents and counselors to show how the current crisis has altered their expectations and behaviors toward the college search…

Nearly 40 percent of college students are transfers. They approach the college search process much differently than traditional students, choosing a college much more quickly and often having a more focused and specific reason for choosing a new school. How can your campus meet their needs, engage more transfers, and increase your enrollment of…