While preferable over requiring standardized tests, test-optional policies also have some unintended consequences. The limitations of test-optional policies do not warrant a return to required standardized testing, which is even more counterproductive to equity given that race and class are substantial predictors of performance on such tests.…

Undocumented immigrants face learning, compliance, and psychological costs when confronting in-state resident tuition (ISRT) policy implementation. Building on administrative burdens scholarship and using qualitative data from 19 semi-structured interviews with undocumented youth immigrants, this article examines administrative burdens that may…

This article examines how diversity is constructed in college recruiting, with a focus on the ways in which recruiters' interpretations of diversity are conceptualized, practiced, and (mis)aligned with those represented in institutional messaging in higher education. Through the lens of Discourse Theory, this study demonstrates how distinct…

Attending a selective college or university has a notable impact on the likelihood of graduation, graduate school attendance, social networks, and career earnings. Given these short-term and long-term benefits, surprisingly little research has directly explored the factors that might promote or detract from equitable admissions decisions at these…

This was an exploratory qualitative study utilizing tenets of phenomenology to examine the lived experiences of front-line student services professionals in Admissions and Financial Aid and their dilemmas in interpreting and implementing California Assembly Bill 540 (2001) in their interactions with undocumented students. Front-line student…

Despite repeated calls for change, the problem of widening access (WA) to medicine persists globally. One factor which may be operating to maintain social exclusion is the language used in representing WA applicants and students by the gatekeepers and representatives of medical schools, Admissions Deans. We therefore examined the institutional…

This paper applies an original framework to disentangle the concept of meritocracy, and the relationship between meritocracy and fairness, in elite university admissions. In Britain, elite universities are regularly criticised for being unmeritocratic and by implication unfair, but stakeholders often lack a shared understanding of meritocracy and…

This article explores concerns about gender inequality in Zimbabwean state universities. The researcher's interest arose from the realisation of persistent gender inequalities despite initiatives to close gender gaps. Of particular concern is the conceptualization and operationalisation of gender equality in institutions. Focusing only on the…

Community colleges enroll nearly half the undergraduates in the U.S. These institutions play a significant role in the academic, social, political, and economic future of our nation. As historically open admission institutions, with a primary focus on providing access to higher education, they have been pressed in recent decades--as has all of…

There is no shortage of places in higher education--most noncompetitive colleges could admit more students, but institutions often struggle to get the class that they want. Professionals consider the admission process successful when they are able to configure a class that meets the institution's many missions and notions, rather than just…

Marketing techniques have proven useful in several types of admissions situations. The results of a 1979 study of admissions officers' use of marketing techniques indicate that several marketing techniques have been used successfully in situations where selective admissions procedures pertain. (Author)

Presents keynote address from 43rd National Conference of the National Association of College Admission Counselors. Focuses on minority access within higher education community. Commends missions and commitment of predominantly Black colleges and urges all institutions to establish firm commitments to education of minority youth. (NB)

Misconceptions regarding the work of college admissions officers and the role of admissions in expanding access to education prompted this review of applied research in college admissions. Focus is on two areas of research and evaluation: college staff visits to schools and college choice decisions made by applicants who were offered admission.…