Over the past six years, the Pullias Center for Higher Education has been engaged in research designed to better understand the potential of digital tools to increase access to college. Their most recent $3.2 million "First in the World" (FITW) federal grant has enabled the Center to implement and evaluate an online game-based…

This article presents the author's letter of apology as a response to "The Cultural Bind of the American Male". In the letter, the author offers his apologies because educators have failed to solve the cultural bind of the American male.

"Selling yourself" through personal statements and interviews is now a standard practice for university applicants. This article draws on a multi-case-study research project to report on the self-marketing orientations of students within three 16-19 institutions in England. These orientations (active/passive; internal/external;…

Many high school students are eligible for college but they do not go, or they attend a less demanding postsecondary institution. Their problems are twofold--either (1) they lack the counseling and support structures necessary to apply to college, or (2) they lack the counseling and support structures that enable them to apply to the kind of…

While socioeconomic inequality in postsecondary outcomes is well documented, limited research explores the extent to which seeing a high school counselor can help to reduce inequality in college destinations. In particular, previous research rarely considers the high school context in which counselors and students interact as well as the other…

Launched in 1965, Upward Bound (UB) is one of the oldest and largest of the federal college access programs targeted to low-income students and those who would represent the first-generation of college completers in their families. Currently, UB serves more than 60,000 high school students at a cost of about $4,300 per youth and offers an array of…

This paper maps the main dimensions of differentiation among institutions and "faculties" (subject areas within institutions) of higher education in the United Kingdom. It does so through a principal components analysis based on the characteristics of applicants and entrants. A single status dimension accounts for a quarter of the…

Higher education has long been viewed as a social elevator. The path to a higher education credential, however, is complicated for students from low-income and/or minoritized communities. This report provides a snapshot of digital tools designed to help students with college exploration, college admissions, and financial planning. To set the…

Both young and fast-growing, the Latino population in the U.S. is enrolling in higher education in increasing numbers. Over the past decade, the rate of enrollment in higher education for Latinos ages 18 to 24 years old has increased by 15 percentage points, from 24% to 39%. During this same time, the average annual cost of college has more than…

The Texas 10% law states that students who graduated among the top 10% of their high school class are guaranteed admission to public universities in Texas. We estimate the causal effects of this admissions guarantee on a sequence of connected decisions: students' application behavior, admission decisions by the university, students' enrollment…

The relationship between trust and information sources for new purchasers of higher education is discussed. A range of sources is evaluated by potential entrants into UK higher education, and indicates that universities tend to be regarded as the most trustworthy when information is directly associated with them and social networks, and friends…

The perception of college affordability and financing is a grim one, fueled by the very real rising costs of higher education, as well as media coverage of how much students and their families are borrowing. While this perception is understandable given the realities of paying for college, how do students and parents feel about the process of…

College ranking guides such as Barron's "Profiles of American Colleges" and "US News and World Report" serve as bibles for college applicants and their families. The schools they proclaim as most competitive or elite receive a flood of applications, despite their often-hefty price tags. However, the ranks of the top-tier…

This report provides a snapshot of statistics from academic year 2016-17 related to students at UK higher education institutions and the income and expenditure of these institutions. The statistics reviewed include universities' research activity, student employability, and information on international students and staff. ?????Highlights include:…

In many high-wage industries, a high school degree no longer prepares students to enter the workforce. By 2020, labor market analysts predict that 65 percent of all jobs will require postsecondary education or training. Though high schools across the Commonwealth seek to prepare students for both higher education and the workforce, too many…