One challenge faced by colleges and universities is fluctuation in traditional enrollment pools. Qualified applicants with learning disabilities represent a potential resource. Professional guidelines regarding admission practices and applicants with disabilities are available but underused. The profession can develop and validate common admission…

Discusses parents' use of early decision/early action (ED/EA) in college admissions to maximize the odds of admission at prestigious colleges and the implications for college admission programs. Topics discussed include the reasons for the surge in ED/EA, differences between ED and EA, the applicant pool, who benefits from ED application, and the…

Purpose: This paper aims to explore the information sources used by school leavers when selecting a university at which they wish to study and the perceived reliability of these sources of information. Design/methodology/approach: Using data from 306 pupils studying at various schools in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland it was revealed that…

This digest summarizes in a question and answer format a full length report of the same title. It addresses trends in college student enrollment patterns with an emphasis on behavior underlying student choice of college. Demographic changes and cuts in important sources of student financial aid brought significant enrollment declines to higher…

Endorsed by five national educational organizations (the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, the American Council on Education, the College Entrance Examination Board, the National Association of College Admissions Counselors, and the National Association of Secondary School Principals), the fact sheet outlines…

Presented are several of the techniques that have been used as part of a comprehensive market research program at Carleton College (Northfield, Minnesota). The basic focus is on regional segments in Carleton's applicant pool. Carleton's position in the market is examined in relation to selected types of schools with which it competes for…

Pre-college intervention strategies work to increase the number of students who are prepared to succeed in college. These programs need to tap college-bound students and see they stay on track; identify junior and high school students interested in college; and increase number of students in math, science, and technology. (MLW)

Factors related to the decline in applications for medical school include costs of medical education, student's desire to begin earning money quickly, publicity about the high cost of malpractice insurance and the increasingly bureaucratic nature of the medical professions, and the perception that there is a continuing overabundance of doctors.…

Describes Augustana College's program of structured library orientation for high school students and its role in recruitment of prospective students. Library staff are seen as a credible and capable force in the college-wide effort to attract good students. (KS)

Alarmed by the decline in the number of minorities graduating from high schools and colleges, representatives of 28 liberal arts institutions met at Swarthmore College in February 1987 to consider strategies to increase minority-group applicant pools and to improve retention rates. A consortium with 300 high schools nationwide was proposed. (MLW)

Since 1995, the University of California has been prohibited from employing affirmative action principles in student admissions. In response to this constraint, the UC has sought to pursue a number of other avenues for promoting the selection and retention of a diverse student body. In this paper we look at how officials and staff within the UC…

Research on college choice as it relates to students' characteristics is reviewed, and the choice process is shown to be a complex series of activities, with individuals participating in it differently. Parent education is a stronger influence than race or gender. Groups are likely to respond to different marketing strategies. (MSE)

Student admission criteria and a college's advising and recruitment efforts are viewed from the perspective of a growing higher education establishment trying to attract students. A student selection model is proposed, derived from an "innovation-decision process" (Rogers and Shoemaker), which focuses on applicant behavior and decision-making…

McMaster University's experiment with alumni involvement in student recruitment consisted of matching an alumnus with an accepted applicant to make a personal contact to encourage enrollment and answer questions when possible. The experiment correlated with a decrease, not increase, in the capture rate in the area it covered. (MSE)

This article proposes that providing an 800-number for prospective students who want additional information may be a cost-effective means for colleges and universities to enhance student recruitment efforts. The use of service bureaus that provide this service is discussed, and administrative considerations are explored. (MSE)