Prospective college students regularly read in promotional literature that the college experience is personal and unique to each individual. However, if their experience in the recruitment process proves otherwise it is difficult to convince students that they can each have a personal relationship with the institution. Small colleges can overcome…

The system of higher professional education being updated in Russia, including the federal state educational standards, calls for an orientation toward the interests of customers, providing students with greater opportunities to choose and implement their own educational trajectory, increasing the proportion of independent creative research work…

Early admissions is widely used by selective colleges and universities. We identify some basic facts about early admissions policies, including the admissions advantage enjoyed by early applicants and patterns in application behavior, and propose a game-theoretic model that matches these facts. The key feature of the model is that colleges want to…

Each year, admissions officers know that a small percentage of admitted applicants who sent deposits will not show up. The phenomenon, known as "summer melt," has many causes. Students might change their plans because they suddenly get off their first-choice college's waiting list--or because they opt to spend a year caring for penguins in…

This article focuses on the interaction between students and institutions as they move toward decisions related to college attendance. Enrollment managers will find this information useful as they work within their institution to develop and revise long-term recruiting strategies that benefit both the institution and future students. Typically,…

With 16,000 graduate and undergraduate students, the International College for Experienced Learning (ICEL) is widely considered among the better for-profit universities in Mexico, where such institutions have flourished over the last 20 years by offering degrees that can be earned relatively quickly, and flexibility in terms of fee payments and…

Federal student aid comes from the federal government--specifically, the U.S. Department of Education. It is money that helps a student pay for higher education expenses (i.e., college, career school, or graduate school expenses). Federal student aid covers such expenses as tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies, and transportation.…

This article discusses how to assess for wisdom, intelligence, and creativity. The author describes how he uses the model, Wisdom, Intelligence and Creativity Synthesized, or WICS, as a basis for admissions at Tufts University. Then, he presents actual essay topics that can be used for admissions to the Class of 2011.

The purpose of this article is to reflect on how to break bad news. The style in which one breaks bad news at the collegiate level has implications both for the individual and for the institution. If not managed well by enrollment professionals, negative news can taint prospects, applicants, parents, and current students, blemishing the…

Since 2003, Austin Independent School District's (AISD) postsecondary enrollment has increased incrementally. Over the years, the percentages of students enrolling in 2-year institutions appear to account for the overall increase in postsecondary enrollment. After the upward tick in postsecondary enrollment for the Class of 2011, enrollment…

Recent studies have suggested that a causal link exists between college rankings and subsequent admissions indicators. However, it is unclear how these effects vary across institutional type (i.e., national universities vs. liberal arts colleges) or whether these effects persist when controlling for other factors that affect admissions outcomes.…

The Houston Community College Mobile Go Center brings college enrollment assistance to the doorstep of our community. It operates in a variety of settings, offering college-going material and person-to-person assistance at numerous city events. Services include assistance with academic advising, completing the FAFSA, college application process,…

American colleges and universities compete with each other for undergraduate and graduate students, faculty and staff, research funding, and external contributions, as well as on athletic fields. This competition is often alleged to be a zero-sum game; what one institution wins, another must lose. However, as the authors show here, the Common…

Federal student aid comes from the federal government--specifically, the U.S. Department of Education. It's money that helps a student pay for higher education expenses (i.e., college, career school, or graduate school expenses). Federal student aid covers such expenses as tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies, and transportation.…

Young females have "arrived" in regard to graduating from high school and attending and graduating from college. More females are currently earning PhD's than their male counterparts. Female students have been encouraged and nurtured to become a confident, task-oriented, organized group of achievers who are applying to college in record numbers.…