Regardless of the setting, prospective students should put their best foot forward when they talk with admissions officers. Many college admissions programs refer to the campus encounter as an "information session" and tend to be less formal, but the students are well-advised to be prepared to promote themselves. (MLW)

Those in the profession of college admissions counseling worry about student "numbers," filling dormitories, academic quality, diversity, athletes, alumni legacies, etc. A perplexing development of the 1980s is the bidding war over financial aid and merit scholarships. The life of an admissions officer is described. (MLW)

A study on the use and effectiveness of marketing in postsecondary admissions is discussed. The study shows that only 8 of 16 marketing techniques were used by more than half of the respondents. The broader scheme of marketing is seen as not having been put to use fully by admissions officers. (MLW)

There have been dramatic changes in the environment surrounding American higher education and admissions professionals have had to adapt to them. Demographics, new societal attitudes, new complexities in admissions work, and new economic restrictions are seen as having changed the admissions profession. (Author/MLW)

Declining enrollments and a changing student population in the 1980s will require the admissions officer to achieve new and more varied skills, including those related to research orientation, information management, and financial aid understanding. New campus power may result. (MLW)

Speech is a major medium for the admissions message, and how well it is utilized needs to be evaluated. An understanding of speech communication and the role it plays in the information process can help admissions professionals to help people make better college choices. (Author/MLW)

Reflections on the profession of admissions officer include the need for sharing of information within the profession, the admissions officer as enrollment manager, the role of intercollegiate athletics, and merit scholarships. (MSE)

With institutional survival at stake, admissions and financial aid administrators at all colleges may work together more in the future, concerned with both supply and retention of students and financial aid funds. Policy formation will require the cooperation of these administrators. (MSE)

A survey of the ways in which two-year-college admissions offices in the middle states region have been affected by social and demographic trends is discussed. The changing role of the admissions officer, student retention, institutional research, and institutional problems are described. (Author/MLW)

Questions about finding information about colleges, deciding which school to attend, and suggested changes in the application and admissions process are answered by six high school students randomly called throughout the nation. (MLW)

Five strategies used by Rollins College to improve retention are discussed, including examining longitudinal trends, developing and testing hypotheses about the reasons for student dissatisfaction and departure, setting goals for retention improvement, designing and implementing strategies, and measuring progress and assessing programs. (MSE)

The major challenges of college admissions directors and their staffs will center on the number of newly arriving students, the extent and record of their academic preparation, and their likely rate of on-time graduation. Tests will become increasingly important whether they are administered before or during the enrollment stage. (MLW)