Yale announced early this year that it would return to being a test-required institution for first-year applicants during the 2024-2025 admissions cycle, so it should come as no surprise that Yale received 1,000 fewer Single-Choice Early Action applications this fall than it did last fall. Middling athletes, development cases, legacies, and underrepresented applicants are the hardest hit by Yale’s decision to yet again require standardized testing as part of its application review process.
Word to the Wise: Apply ED and EA this Fall
It should go without saying, but to be a smart, strategic, and successful college applicant this fall, you should try you hardest to apply to multiple Early Action colleges at the same time as you apply Early Decision to your first choice college.
Learn more by watching the video below, and good luck as the official start to the 2024-2025 admissions cycle kicks off tomorrow.
New Early Action Admissions Options Popping Up Across America
It started in Texas, gained traction in Florida, and has now spread to the Pacific Northwest. “It” is the advent of new Early Action admissions plans for high school seniors applying to college.
When a high school senior applies to a college or university “Early Action” it means he or she is submitting his or her application by a specific early deadline (usually in October, November, or December) and will in turn receive an admissions decision earlier than when that college or university releases its admissions decisions to students who apply “Regular Decision” (which is usually associated with a January or February application deadline). When a student is admitted “Early Action,” the student is not committed to enroll at that college and has until May 1 of his or her senior year in high school in order to decide where to matriculate.
In March, The University of Texas at Austin announced the introduction of a new Early Action program for first-year applicants. This optional early deadline will require application submission by October 15, with a guaranteed decision communicated to first-year applicants by January 15. The regular deadline for first-year applications will remain December 1 and come along with a guaranteed decision communicated by February 15.
University of Florida then announced later in March that for the 2024-2025 admissions cycle it would also begin offering first-year applicants the chance to apply Early Action. By adopting the Early Action plan, potential first-year students who submit their applications by November 1, 2024 and submit all required materials will be notified on January 24, 2025 of their admissions status with UF.
“The University of Florida draws elite students, and this initiative is an important opportunity for our university and our students,” UF President Ben Sasse said at the time of the announcement. “Not only will it help UF attract the best minds, but it will also identify and reward students who are bold enough and determined enough to challenge themselves here in our rigorous academic environment.”
“Early Action will provide more certainty to selected students by notifying them of admission decisions earlier,” said Mary Parker, vice president for enrollment management at UF. “We appreciate how stressful it can be to plan for college. This plan will help reduce stress for aspiring Gators and their families; allowing more time to prepare for their time at UF – such as looking into housing and financial aid options.”
Not to be outdone by its neighbor just to the north, University of Central Florida announced in late June that it too would offer an Early Action admissions plan for the 2024-2025 admissions cycle. Under UCF’s new plan, first-year applicants who wish to apply Early Action for the Summer 2025 or Fall 2025 term must submit their application by Oct. 15, 2024 and all required application materials must be received by November 1, 2024. Those first-year applicants who meet these deadlines will receive a final admission decision or deferral for additional information on November 15, 2024.
“Transitioning to this early action and modified rolling admission process reflects our commitment to providing prospective Knights with a clear and timely admission experience, while maintaining flexibility for those students who prefer a rolling process,” said Alicia Keaton, interim associate vice president for enrollment planning and management at UCF. “We understand that the college application process can be stressful, and this change will allow families to operate on a timeline that works best for them, helping them to better plan for their future.”
Florida State University already offers an Early Action admission option for first-year applicants as long as such applicants are Florida residents. UF’s and UCF’s new Early Action plans are open to all first-year applicants, regardless of state of residency.
Yet, it’s not just public universities joining the Early Action bandwagon. Gonzaga University, a private Jesuit university in Spokane, Washington, also announced in June that it would start offering Early Action for the first time during the 2024-2025 admissions cycle.
Gonzaga’s Early Action deadline is set for November 15, 2024, and Early Action decisions are anticipated to be released in late December 2024. Gonzaga will still have a Regular Decision deadline of February 1 to provide some applicants the opportunity to include more senior year grades for admission review. Students applying under the Regular Decision deadline can expect decisions by early March 2025. In addition, all applications to Gonzaga’s nursing program must be submitted by the Early Action deadline of November 15. Applications received after this date will be considered for the nursing waitlist.
“Gonzaga University is committed to supporting our prospective students by providing processes that fit their needs,” said Steve Keller, senior director of Undergraduate Admission. “These application options benefit students wishing to lock in college decisions early, as well as students waiting to include information that could enhance their profile in the admission review,” Keller said. “We’ve found that they appreciate this flexibility and we’re pleased to reflect the needs and expectations of today’s applicants.”
The formal start of the 2024-2025 admissions cycle for first-year applicants is increasingly recognized as August 1, as this is the date each year when the Common App, the application used by over 1,000 colleges and universities, goes live for students applying for first-year admission for the following August or September.
55,000 applied to Purdue Early Action; 97% of those admitted submitted test scores
Cary Quadrangle at Purdue University with an animated Boilermaker on the roof.
Purdue University will release its Early Action (EA) decisions to first-year applicants through each EA applicant’s Purdue Application Portal starting at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday, January 12. This includes decisions for its long-standing campus in West Lafayette, Indiana and its new campus in Indianapolis, Indiana’s state capital.
After several years of record-breaking enrollment, Purdue saw another uptick in applications received by November 1, 2023. Purdue received more than 55,000 applications by its November 1 Early Action deadline, which represents an increase of 3,000 applicants from the 2022-2023 admissions cycle.
With Purdue’s “test expected” approach to first-year admission, 44,000 Early Action applicants applied with a test score, and 97.2% of the students offered admission through Early Action submitted test scores.
The middle 50% SAT scores for accepted students for Fall 2023 who submitted SAT scores was 1210 – 1450 while the middle 50% of ACT scores for accepted students for Fall 2023 who submitted test scores was 27 – 34, though there was great variation between schools and majors. For instance, Purdue’s competitive Computer Science major had an acceptance rate of just 29.5% for Fall 2023 and the middle 50% of test scores of accepted Computer Science students was 1490 – 1560 on the SAT and 33 – 35 on the ACT. Yet, Purdue’s College of Education had a 74.5% acceptance rate and the middle 50% of test scores of accepted College of Education students was 1070 – 1260 on the SAT and 23.5 – 29 on the ACT. More Class of 2027 admissions data can be found on Purdue’s website.
Students who have not yet applied to Purdue but who want a chance to become part of Purdue’s Class of 2028 have until Purdue’s Regular Decision deadline of January 15 to apply.
As part of Purdue’s effort to avoid over-enrolling students, Purdue is also relying more heavily on deferred decisions for the 2023-2024 admissions cycle; therefore, EA applicants should not be surprised to get a deferral on January 12. Defer is not a deny decision but a method of allowing Purdue to assess space and availability before making a final decision through its Regular Decision review process. Deferred applicants are encouraged to complete a Letter of Continued Interest form in their Purdue Application Portal.
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If you – or someone you know – has been deferred from Purdue, in the video below I share expert tips on how to craft the most compelling Letter of Continued Interest possible to increase your chances of getting in Regular Decision. Good luck!
More Applying, Fewer Getting Accepted to Tulane Early Decision
Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana will release its Early Decision I (EDI) decisions tomorrow, December 5, 2023, at 5:00 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time.
Those about to receive decisions – and those who follow this type of thing – should know that Tulane experienced a 20 percent increase in Early Decision applicants this admissions cycle while reducing the number of Early Decision I acceptances for the second year in a row in order to provide more opportunities for students unable or unwilling to make a binding commitment to Tulane, “particularly those from first generation or low/middle income backgrounds,” according to Tulane’s admissions office.
The vast majority of EDI applicants will receive one of three decisions: an acceptance, a denial, or a nonbinding offer to join Tulane’s cohort of Spring Scholars. Spring Scholars do not have to tell Tulane of their decision until May 1, 2024.
Meanwhile, Tulane also received 30 percent more Early Action applications this year than it did last year. Early Action applicants will get their admissions decisions by January 10, 2024 at the latest.
UMass Amherst receives record 30,000+ Early Action applications
University of Massachusetts Amherst is gearing up to release all of its Early Action (EA) admission decisions on the evening of Wednesday, January 24 during an admissions cycle in which the public university had over 30,000 students apply through Early Action, a new record. Just last year, UMass received 28,461 EA applications, while as recently as the 2018-2019 admissions cycle UMass Amherst only received a relatively paltry 20,440 EA applications.
In the past, UMass Amherst has released EA decisions in waves. This year, all EA applicants will receive their decisions on the same date (January 24). EA applicants will receive an email letting them know when an admissions decision has been posted. At that point, applicants will be instructed to log into their UMass Amherst admissions portal to check their posted admission decision on the “Student Status” page.
EA applicants will receive one of three decisions: Admit, Waitlist, or Deny; UMass Amherst does not defer any EA applicants to its Regular Decision pool.
According to UMass Amherst admissions, and based on EA application volume, it’s likely that majors within the Manning College of Information & Computer Sciences, the Isenberg School of Management, and the Marieb College of Nursing will be the most competitive for admission this year.
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Did you do all you could have done in order to give yourself the best shot of getting into UMass Amherst? Watch my previous video, “How to get into UMass Amherst,” below.
The top 23 songs to listen to while completing your college applications in 2023 are…
Picture it. You are all alone in your bedroom at 11:47 p.m. on a Tuesday night.
By day you are an overloaded high school senior year who feels dominated by IB or AP course assignments, juggling the responsibilities that come with leading four time-sucking extracurricular activities, and cramming to get an A in every class for your first quarter report card.
Unlike your classmates who could best be described as one or more of the following —
- Ivy League legacies
- Recruitable athletes
- Paying unscrupulous consultants to write their applications for them
- Paying dastardly ‘doctors’ to write faux concussion, migraine, or Crohn’s Disease sick notes for them in order to secure very real SAT or ACT extended time testing accommodations
- Full-pay international students
- Completely disinterested in college (and, as a result, probably far smarter than you give them credit for)
— you are going to have to actually earn your way into an Ivy on your own! So, you find yourself staring at your computer screen at nearly midnight and into the abyss that is the Common Application filled with various application supplements that you have yet to complete.
By night, you must shift into truly high gear. You need inspiration. You are tapped out from doing somersaults throughout high school but you can’t afford to get tired now when there are so few spots at America’s ‘top’ colleges for students who actually have to earn their way into them on their own – with their own wits and moxie. Your fate will depend on your wisdom and your will – and whether or not a lot of legacies et al. are applying to your first choice college this year.
You have to work for at least two more hours to draft essays if your final essay drafts will ever be of the quality that they need to be to get you in. You turn to YouTube (which is also home to the great CollegeMeister channel) for a song or a soundtrack to pump you up; yet, most of the tracks that pop up aren’t capable of taking you to the level that you need to be at in order to pump out what you need to pump out tonight – and every night – between now and November 1, the date when you aim to submit all of your college applications to your one Early Decision, five Early Action, two Priority, and two Rolling admission colleges.
You turn to Google to find inspiration and you type in, “College Application Completion Playlists” or “Motivational Songs” or “EDM Motivation” or some other search query that gets you to this blessed page where you find yourself right now.
Lucky you.
Without further ado, here they are – the top 23 tracks in 2023 to have playing in the background as you complete your college applications, especially the essays, if you are serious about doing all that you can do to get in by virtue of your work ethic alone:
23. T-Pain – Best Love Song ft. Chris Brown
You really do need to consider your college application supplemental essays as individualized ‘love songs’ to each college on your list. If you write a generic love note or song to a potential love interest, he or she is not going to take your seriously, and the same goes with colleges getting a generic supplement from you. This track underscores the point that you are in the love song writing business until you are finished each and every app that has supplemental writing.
22. Johnny Nash – I Can See Clearly Now
That feeling you get either when your writer’s block clears or you realize the sun is rising and school starts in two hours.
21. Alex Gaudino feat. Crystal Waters – Destination Calabria
Because, let’s face it, even if you put in 200% effort over the coming nights, the “destination [is] unknown” and you very well may end up at Tulane or Wisconsin.
20. Ida Corr vs Fedde Le Grand Let Me Think About It (Extended)
“Give us your Top Ten List.” Come on Wake Forest! “Let me think about it.”
19. Better Off Alone
No. You won’t be better off alone. The very thought of a gap year “alone” scares/inspires you to complete a better application during the dead of night. Plus, you can’t afford a gap year to find yourself like Malia or your lax-playing buddies.
18. Gina G Ooh Aah Just A Little Bit
This one’s good because it reminds you that one day this will all be over. You can do it! “Just a little bit” more.
17. Viola Wills – If You Could Read My Mind
Why can’t the admissions officers “just read my mind” instead of forcing me to communicate well in 650 words or fewer? After all, you’ve likely endured an extremely poor education in English throughout your K-12 career due to too many English teachers being focused on serving up critical theory rather than traditional literary analysis, strong writing instruction, or any sort of celebration of the best works of Western Civilization. By the way, there are a lot of versions of this song, but we chose this one because Viola Wills put her soul into it – just like you will need to put your soul into your apps.
16. Lighthouse Family – High
“When you are close to tears remember, someday it will all be over, one day we’re going to get so high!” Enough said, but don’t do drugs, even if it’s legal.
15. Don’t Stop Believin’
Don’t stop believin’ that you will get in…unless you are honest and of Asian heritage, in which case, just stop believing because the Ivies value ‘diversity,’ which is code for ‘they have more Asians than they currently wish to accept.’ Your only hope is the Supreme Court.
14. The Jacksons – Can You Feel It [Audio HQ] HD
Can you feel the acceptance notifications coming your way?
13. Cass Elliot – Make Your Own Kind of Music (HQ)
Because, really, you do need to be true to who you are and utterly unique if you are going to have any chance of getting into Harvard, Princeton, or Yale without any of the characteristics mentioned in that bulleted list above.
12. One Day More! – Les Misérables – 10th Anniversary Concert
Only play this one on October 31 – or the day before you know you will be finished your dastardly applications once and for all.
11. Michael Ball, Alfie Boe – He Lives In You (From “The Lion King” / Lyric Video)
Indeed, you must, “have faith” and “he does live in you!” You need to draw on generations of your ancestors to find strength. After all, if they could get through famines, wars, living without an iPhone, you can complete a few college applications.
10. Avicii – Levels
You need a good feeling or two right about now.
9. Jason Derulo – “Want To Want Me” (Official Video)
“It’s too hard to sleep…” Please, Columbia and Brown, I just “want you to want me”…despite you preferring well-connected social justice activists and loaded legacies…or better yet, those who check both of those boxes. :-/
8. Deorro x Chris Brown – Five More Hours (Official Video)
Whether you are up against the deadline on November 1 with just five more hours to go or “you are just getting started,” this one works.
7. P!nk – So What (Official Music Video)
“So, what?” Even if I have to go to Emory, “I’m still a rockstar!”
6. Bob Seger – Hollywood Nights (Lyrics)
At least you can comfort yourself knowing that you are not Aunt Becky or a Desperate Housewife out in “Hollywood” bribing the powers that be at USC for the honor of living in South Central LA for four years.
5. Let It Be (Remastered 2009)
Try your best and all, but maybe it’s time to just “let it be” and settle for Barrett Honors College at ASU?
4. Eric Prydz – Call On Me (Official HD Video)
You can always “call on me,” CollegeMeister Craig Meister, the best and most refreshingly honest college admissions coach on the planet. Cue this EDM classic.
3. Kygo & Whitney Houston – Higher Love (Official Video)
Okay, it’s a visual knockoff of Eric Prydz’s song above, but the vocals are pure – early Whitney Houston – and the accompaniment is rock solid and by Kygo. It’s of course far more current, though also feels classic. Not to mention the lyrics are perfect for ascending to the ‘higher’ level that you to need to reach in order to at least get into Cornell or Dartmouth.
2. Joel Corry x RAYE x David Guetta – BED [Official Video]
You’d much prefer to be in bed yourself, but lyrics like, “And I got work in the morning, early, early in the morning,” and, “Oh, and why’d I gotta do this the hard way?” certainly resonate. Other lyrics…well…let’s just say, I don’t advocate for premarital coition. Overall, this song certainly gets one pumped up, though it’s hard to get out of your head.
1. Kylie Minogue – Padam Padam (Official Video)
Did you know that Kylie Minogue is beating cancer? Really puts things in perspective. As a former colleague once told me when I was a bit stressed helping all my high school seniors, “Craig, the college admissions process isn’t life or death.” Very good advice. With that said, I know what it feels like when you hear your own heartbeat – “Padam Padam” – in your head because of adrenaline or apprehension. This track will at least help you harness being so hyped up for good. How can’t you be productive when you have it playing?
P.S.: As you wait for your admissions decisions, or as an alternate to some of the options above, how about playing on loop “High Hopes” by Panic! At The Disco?
P.P.S.: Do realize that the above list is completely subjective and somewhat satirical – just like the crazy college admissions process at America’s most selective colleges; therefore, I apologize in advance if your favorite songs didn’t make the cut, if you don’t get in where you want, and/or if you are offended. Life’s unfair like that. Just remember that if you don’t get in, you need to sing this one last song out loud whenever your friends – and frienemies – get into their top choices:
You will survive!
Wake Forest Introduces Exclusive Early Action (EEA)
Considering how much the word “inclusive” is bandied about these days, Wake Forest University would, at first glance, appear to be taking a big risk by creating a new Early Action admissions option that will be the exclusive domain of only certain applicants based on their demographics alone. Yet, that’s exactly what Wake Forest is doing while promoting its new Early Action admissions option as a tool to promote inclusivity.
On June 29, the day when The Supreme Court of the United States ruled that race can’t be a factor in admissions decisions, Wake Forest University’s President Susan R. Wente wrote, “We write to affirm that Wake Forest University will not waver in its commitment to creating and sustaining inclusive, diverse learning communities; our mission and values have not and will not change. We will continue to recruit and enroll academically qualified students of diverse backgrounds who seek an intellectual home at Wake Forest where they belong and thrive, and in compliance with the Court’s ruling.”
Just a few weeks later, Wake introduced a new essay prompt for first-year applicants to complete during the 2023-2024 admissions cycle that invites students to explain how their identity or lived experience will help them contribute to the Wake Forest community.
Now, Wake Forest has announced a new Early Action admissions option “specifically for first-generation students to provide an additional pathway of opportunity.” Those who are not considered by Wake to be first-generation college students may not apply to Wake using this new Early Action option, thus making it the very definition of exclusive, which is why for the remainder of this article, and in order to differentiate it from traditional Early Action options that do not prevent certain students from taking advantage of them, Wake’s new admissions option will be referred to as Exclusive Early Action, or EEA. Wake’s new Exclusive Early Action applicants must apply by November 15 and will receive their admissions decisions by January 15.
For years, Wake Forest has met 100% of the demonstrated financial need of eligible admitted undergraduate students while also offering Early Decision I (students apply by November 15 and get their decisions by December) and Early Decision II (students apply by January 1 and get their decisions by February 15) application options, both of which are officially binding in nature (meaning a student must attend – in most cases – if admitted), and Regular Decision (students apply by January 1 and get their decisions in late March/Early April), which, just like its new EEA option, doesn’t require admitted students to accept or reject their offers of admission until May 1. Yet, three pathways to opportunity, all of which are open to any and all potential applicants, were deemed insufficient to those making executive level decisions at Wake Forest. Why?
From Wake’s perspective, offering Exclusive Early Action is a way to get “first dibs” on in-demand first-generation students and avoid having to directly compare a cohort of such applicants to applicants with the perceived advantages associated with being born to one or two parents with degrees from four-year colleges.
A critical paragraph of the June Supreme Court majority opinion, written by Chief Justice John Roberts, included this line:
“…universities may not simply establish through application essays or other means the regime we hold unlawful today…'[W]hat cannot be done directly cannot be done indirectly. The Constitution deals with substance, not shadows,’ and the prohibition against racial discrimination is ‘levelled at the thing, not the name.’ Cummings v. Missouri, 4 Wall. 277, 325 (1867).”
US Census data from 2022 indicate that the percentage of adults age 25 and older with a bachelor’s degree or more was 41.8% for the non-Hispanic White population, 27.6% for the Black population, 59.3% for the Asian population, and 20.9% for the Hispanic population. Thus, being a first-generation college student is a real, though imperfect, proxy for race.
Presumably, the upshot for students of applying EEA to Wake will not be learning of their decisions early, as many, though not all, first-generation students will want to wait to compare all of their offers of admission and financial aid. Rather, the upshot for students is that it is likely that the acceptance rate for EEA applicants will be higher than the acceptance rate for those applying in the competitive Regular Decision cycle, as most colleges that offer Early Action and/or Early Decision have higher acceptance rates for such options relative to their Regular Decision options.
Thus, for someone who really wants to go to Wake Forest but who doesn’t want to commit to attending Wake Forest until he or she receives all of his or her admissions and aid decisions, Wake’s new EEA option seems like a great chance to keep one’s options open and increase one’s chances of admission to Wake – and potentially elsewhere since it allows such students to apply to an Early Decision college or two and unlimited traditional Early Action (EA) colleges concurrently – all in one fell swoop. Of course, a lot of high school seniors would like to get in on this. But only some will be allowed to: those considered by Wake Forest to be first-generation college students.
Which brings us to who exactly Wake Forest considers a “first-generation college student.” Colleges have not agreed upon a standard definition of the term, especially since two parents of a child may have very different backgrounds and not all children live with or have relationships with both parents.
Wake, in a statement announcing the new admissions option, and on its admissions site, defines first-generation as follows:
“First-generation students are those whose parents did not graduate from a four-year accredited college or university. First generation can also include the children of parents who earned a degree in another country, immigrated to the United States, and are underemployed in the U.S. Whether domestic or international, if the student resides with and receives support from only one parent, the ‘first generation’ classification is based on that parent’s education.”
Eric Maguire, Wake Forest’s Vice-President for Enrollment Management, in response to an inquiry from the author of this article, further clarified that, “an international student can be considered first generation if their parents did not graduate from an accredited university or if they meet all three of the following criteria: earned a degree in another country, immigrated to the United States, and are underemployed. We would determine ‘underemployment’ based on the accepted definition as found in Merriam-Webster: ‘having less than full-time, regular, or adequate employment.'”
In 2007, right before Wake Forest became ACT- and SAT-optional in its admissions process, first-year student enrollment at Wake was 84% White, 6% Asian, 6% Black, 3% Hispanic, and 1% Native American. In Fall 2022, first-year student enrollment at Wake was approximately 63% White, 11% Asian, 11% Hispanic, 7% two or more races, 6% Black, 2% unknown, and less than 1% Native American. Only time will tell if the latest adjustments to Wake Forest’s first-year admissions process alters the racial or ethnic composition of its future entering classes or inspires other institutions to offer their own versions of EEA.
USC First-Year Applications Up 17%
University of Southern California received nearly 81,000 applications for first-year admission during the 2022-2023 admissions cycle, which is a 17% increase over last year. This comes after USC introduced Early Action as an application plan last summer.
Meanwhile, USC will make Regular Decision notifications later today, Friday, March 24. According to Kirk Brennan, USC’s Associate Dean and Director of Undergraduate Admission, “In hopes of minimizing disruption of school days around the globe, our release is scheduled for the late afternoon Pacific time. Students should wait for our email stating the status is available before visiting the USC applicant portal.”
Ultimately, the university will accept around 8,000 first-year applicants for fall 2023 admission, which includes the 2,470 admitted through Early Action. Though this total is only slightly smaller than last year, with the increased application numbers, the competition for limited space was noticeably higher. USC will post final enrollment statistics later this year.
Tomorrow, Saturday, March 25, USC will email approximately 1,000 admitted students results of their merit scholarship application.
USC does not use a waiting list. Instead, it offers a smaller group of students (roughly 1,200 this year) admission to the spring term, which begins in January 2024. If after May 1 USC has room in its fall class, it will invite some spring admits to change their term to fall. All students who submit their spring Intent to Enroll form by May 1 will be considered for any available space. Students in this situation are asked to refrain from sending any other documents to be considered for fall.
In other news, the LA-based research university announced earlier this month that it will now have a new campus in Washington, DC.
The Birthrate Crisis, and How Colleges Should Respond
The biggest stumbling block in education research is its lack of replicability. In science, the same amount of vinegar plus the same amount of baking soda gives you the same result—and the same-sized result—no matter who does the experiment. But take someone else’s methods and teaching materials, implement them the exact same way the first experimenter did, and you will likely get nothing even close to the same result.
A happy exception to this “it’s never the same” rule occurred in the 90s, when a number of studies showed, time after time, there was a way to significantly improve student learning—and it had nothing to do with changing curriculum, retraining teachers, or extending the school day. This swath of studies showed, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the best way to improve student learning—especially in grades K-3—is to follow the magic recipe of 15 students or less with one teacher in one classroom. Do that, and great things happen.
What has happened to this rare pillar of education reform? Well, not much. Once the magic recipe was discovered, administrators scoffed at the idea of dropping class size that low. For that matter, so did taxpayers, who didn’t take long to realize that lower class size meant more classrooms and more teachers—and both cost more money. As a result, education has largely turned its back on this piece of magic, except for some not-so-clever administrators who believe they can keep 30 kids in one classroom with a teacher and an aide and still maintain the ratio.
Since all three parts must be honored, this would be like doubling the baking soda and eggs in a cookie recipe without increasing the amount of flour. You get something different, but you don’t get better cookies. The magic recipe failed on its promise to deliver because the people in charge of schools—administrators and taxpayers—decided the change wasn’t worth the cost, offering instead some sleight of hand with ratios that satisfied most everyone, largely because Americans really don’t understand mathematics.
The leaders of our higher education systems are on the verge of making a similar error, with far more serious consequences. It’s no secret that the birthrate in the US declined about 20 years ago, and is headed for a serious nose dive of the number of high school graduates in about 2025. Since this isn’t exactly new news, one would think colleges would be looking at these numbers and saying something like “Fewer high school graduates means fewer college freshmen. What should we do about it?”
Like the K-12 class size issue, the answer here is pretty easy. No every high school senior goes to college right after high school, so there’s plenty of room to increase the number of college-bound seniors, and still maintain strong college enrollments. The trick here lies in talking to students who don’t see college as part of their futures, and getting them to change their minds. If every high school student already went straight to college, this couldn’t be done; but that just isn’t the case.
As is often the case with answers that appear easy, this one has at least one major snag. A very close read of most college recruiting literature shows it’s based on one big assumption; the student or family reading the literature is already convinced a four-year college is the answer for them, and they now simply need to sort out which ones they’ll consider. They know about testing and application essays and degree requirements and different application deadlines, so it isn’t a question of “If College”. It’s a question of “What College”.
Any student unsure about the benefits of four-year colleges would look at this admissions information and feel like they’ve walked into the middle of a three-hour movie; they know they have some catching up to do, but no one seems to want to help them, since they’re too busy watching the movie themselves. Given that mindset, you’d think most colleges—especially those that experienced freshman enrollment declines of up to 40 percent during COVID—would move heaven and earth to make sure they don’t end up as losers in the birthrate lottery. A few new pamphlets, a different kind of open house, a new video or two, and a little admissions training, and you’re all set.
To date, that has not been the response of the higher education community. Senior admissions officials tell me the general overall response has been to double down on an admissions strategy that includes making their institution the best choice, a strategy that turns what could be a bona fide effort at expanding college access into a zero-sum game. This approach seems to glean support from the national papers who have always covered college admissions like there are only 25 colleges in the country. The more “Ivies Report Record Application” stories they print, the more they feed the attitude that asks the question “Enrollment problem? What enrollment problem?”
The real irony here is that the creation of a “Why College?” campaign for students new to the idea is fairly affordable and relatively easy. Colleges that have like-minded missions and student bodies tend to be in the same athletic league. Imagine what could happen if all colleges in one league pitched in a couple of admissions officers and a modest amount of cash to create, for example, The Big Ten Guide to the Benefits of College. Since the goal of the campaign is informational, this wouldn’t constitute monopoly-building, and could even be overseen by the US Department of Education, which has a vested interest in making sure the college market doesn’t shrink.
The magic recipe of 15 students didn’t generate the results it was capable of for one reason—in the end, most people didn’t really care about fixing the problem. The difference with the birthrate decline is that a lack of students means more than a few colleges will wither, or even die. That would be a shame, but the only way to get something different is to do something different. Are colleges wise enough to realize this, and innovate?
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