I conducted this study to determine if rural scholars faced unique challenges as applicants to medical schools. I created a 34-question, novel survey, "Challenges of Medical School Applicants," and broadly distributed it to medical schools across the country. I collected and analyzed a total of 178 responses. Rural and urban cohorts were…

This report shares data relating to Ontario student and graduate profiles in the following areas: (1) College activity; (2) Numbers of Ontario college applicants, students and graduates; (3) Learner demographics and characteristics; (4) Apprentices; (5) Continuing education students; (6) Graduates; (7) Perceptions; and (8) Key performance…

This study investigates how personality and individual experiences influence decision-making processes during the transition into Higher Education (HE). It offers insights into application choices, where applicants employ different quantitative hedging strategies against non-admission. These strategies are assessed by the number of applications…

Purpose: The purpose of this tutorial is to introduce the interview as a complementary component to the holistic process for graduate admissions. To do so, procedural details of two master's degree programs in speech-language pathology are provided that successfully execute two different but effective interview methods for speech-language…

According to the National College Attainment Network (NCAN, 2023), each year, thousands of high school graduates leave billions of dollars in federal student aid unclaimed because they do not complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). To holistically investigate this phenomenon, this dissertation accomplished three goals. The…

A successful transition from high school to college requires that students have the necessary knowledge, skills, and mindsets in both academic and nonacademic areas. College preparation is a long process. Students complete a series of tasks including taking academic courses, searching for potential colleges, taking standardized tests, choosing a…

This report shares data relating to Ontario student and graduate profiles for 2018 in the following areas: (1) College activity; (2) Numbers of Ontario college applicants, students and graduates; (3) Learner demographics and characteristics; (4) Apprentices; (5) Continuing education students; (6) Graduates; (7) Perceptions; and (8) Key performance…

In a pilot program during the 2016-17 admissions cycle, the University of California, Berkeley invited many applicants for freshman admission to submit letters of recommendation. This proved controversial within the university, with concerns that this change would further disadvantage applicants from disadvantaged groups. To inform this debate, we…

Admission to highly selective institutions offers a pathway to upward social mobility, particularly for low-resource students. However, entrenched wealth disparities in the United States present serious challenges for admission officers at highly selective institutions. Utilizing individualized holistic review (IHR), including letters of…

Who ends up in the teacher workforce is greatly influenced by who is admitted into teacher education programs (TEPs). To better understand how the preferences of teacher education faculty might shape admissions of STEM teacher candidates, we surveyed faculty who teach content or methods courses to STEM teacher candidates across five universities.…

It's time for educators to ditch deficit-based thinking and instead focus on the strengths of immigrant students, writes Jessica Lander. Here, she provides several concrete strategies teachers and schools can use to honor immigrant students' assets, while still providing rigorous English language instruction. For example, teachers can set high…

Dual enrollment (DE) is one of the fastest growing programs that support the high school-to-college transition. Yet, there is limited empirical evidence about its impact on either students' college application choices or admission outcomes. Using a fuzzy regression discontinuity approach and data from two cohorts of ninth-grade students in one…

Informational and behavioral barriers hinder social benefit take-up. We investigate the impact of mitigating these barriers through providing personalized information on benefits application status and application assistance on filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), the gateway to college financial aid. Through a…

This study explores why African American first-year students admitted to the University of California Davis decline their offer of admissions. The objective is to help the University successfully achieve their goal of supporting greater diversity and representation of students from historically underrepresented minority communities and…

Research evaluating holistic admission practices in social work doctoral programs is nascent. This systematic literature review aims to answer two questions: What holistic admissions practices exist in U.S. graduate education? and Are these practices effective in increasing racial and ethnic diversity? In September 2019 we conducted searches of…