STUDENT-CENTERED SOLUTIONS FOR COLLEGE PLANNING

Editor’s note: I am happy to post a guest blog by Peter Farrell, Dean of Admission, Fordham University.

We have now worked through our first wave of admission activity with Score Choice in play. Without a doubt, this new wrinkle in the admission process had made the work of admission officers at Fordham more complicated.

The first wave of difficulty we experienced was a lag in the receipt of students’ scores. In early November, we had thousands of fewer SAT’s on file than the same point last year. With a deluge of scores at the end of the first week in November, it became clear that students had held off on sending scores until they had viewed their October SAT results. This delayed the onset of our early action review by nearly a week.

The second wave of difficulty came with many more high schools not sending testing on their transcripts. While this is totally understandable as students exercise their rights of ownership with regard to test results, something was clearly lost in translation with students. Much more follow-up was required to remind students to get their scores to us from the testing services. Again, a delay in reviewing many applications ensued.

The third wave of difficulty with Score Choice resulted from students opting not to share their testing plans on their applications. Seemingly, the advice students were given was to not share any testing information on applications: no test results, no planned test dates, no nothing! Obviously, this complicates our lives as we wrestle with how to handle individual applicant’s early action decisions. Should we defer a candidate with the hope they might be planning on taking a December SAT or ACT? In the past, students had told us their plans, which helped make these decisions clearer. Now, we’re just left to guess.

All of this is especially troubling in light of the fact that ours is one of the many colleges that clearly tell students they will only be reviewed on the basis of their strongest testing profile. The fact is that sharing a mixed record of testing with us formally, or just on the application itself, will not work against a student in our review.

Do you know you have rights as a college applicant?

Well, you do. As you apply to colleges, you have the right to certain information about them including information about how much it will cost you to attend. According to the National Association of College Admission Counseling (NACAC), a member organization that includes more than 11,000 college access professionals, you have the right to:

• “Receive factual and comprehensive information from colleges and universities about their admission, financial costs, aid opportunities, practices and packaging policies, and housing policies. If you consider applying under an early admission plan, you have the right to complete information from the college about its process and policies.”

• “Be free from high-pressure sales tactics.”

• “Wait until May 1 to respond to an offer of admission or financial aid.”

In order to make good decisions, you need good information and, quite often, a reasonable amount of time in which to consider your options. Toward that end, NACAC further stipulates that:

• “Colleges that request commitments to offers of admission and/or financial assistance prior to May 1 must clearly offer you the opportunity to request (in writing) an extension until May 1. They must grant you the extension and your request may not jeopardize your status for admission and/or financial aid.”

• Candidates admitted under early decision programs are a recognized exception to the May 1 deadline.”

It is important to note that May 1 is regarded as the “Candidate’s Reply Date”—the date by which admitted applicants must make their final college choices. That date was established years ago to allow students a reasonable amount of time to consider their college options and to give colleges a date by which they could begin the registration process (course selections and housing) for the coming year. If you are not an Early Decision candidate, then, you should be afforded time to process admission decisions and financial aid awards that you receive from various colleges and universities.

That said it is easy to fall prey to pressures to make enrollment commitments before you are ready. For example, you may have already encountered enticements such as early or “priority” application deadlines associated with scholarships or housing preferences. Some colleges may offer you scholarships that you can only claim by enrolling well ahead of May 1. And, if you applied to schools that offer “Rolling Admission,” you may be offered admission with the expectation that you will submit a non-refundable enrollment deposit—as soon as possible!

If you feel uncomfortable about the conditions that seem to be placed on your admission status, there is probably a good reason to proceed with caution. Listen to your instincts. And recognize the circumstances for what they are. The colleges in question are attempting to secure as many enrolled students as early in the process as possible.

If you don’t feel you are in possession of the information necessary to allow you to move forward comfortably with a particular college, ask for an extension. It’s not likely that your enrollment opportunity will be withdrawn if you miss a deadline (May 1 is the possible exception). And communicate your concerns with your college advisor as well. If the college remains insistent, ask yourself whether this is the sort of place with which you want to be associated for the next four years.

NACAC has produced a number of important documents that help to define ethical behavior for everyone involved in the admission process. To learn more about your rights and responsibilities as an applicant, go to the Policies and Statements page of the NACAC website. Click on Student Rights and Responsibilities in the College Admission Process to download a pdf brochure. In addition, you may find the Statement of Principles of Good Practice (for the enrollment cycle of 2009 and 2010 academic year), a document that guides the actions of colleges and universities, to be instructive as well.