Crosby Scholars Understanding College Admissions - What Colleges Seek?

UNDERSTANDING

ADMISSIONS: WHAT COLLEGES SEEK

Crosby Scholars Iredell

County

March Free Parent Webinar

AGENDA

• Things to Know

• Data Sources & Search Tools

• State of College Admission

• Selectivity: Trends in Acceptance Rates

• Factors in the Admission Decision

• What Should I Do?

THINGS TO KNOW

• Keep Perspective

• Make it Personal

• Be Realistic – NOT Mediocre

KEEP PERSPECTIVE

• There are over 4,000 colleges and universities in the US

• 18.5 Million Students enrolled in College or University in 2022

• Rankings are NOT everything

• Good is Relative

MAKE IT PERSONAL

• YOU/STUDENT should be the most important factor

• Focus on FIT – Stats - $ - LocationOpportunity

• Consider Your Values

• Don’t Try to Keep Up with the Jones’

BE REALISTIC –NOT MEDIOCRE

• You Don’t Need an IVY League Education to get a Job

• You Should NOT overpay for your education

• Consider Data Points and Your Stats to determine – Safe, Target & Reach Schools

• Run Your OWN RACE

DATA SOURCES & SEARCH TOOLS

• College Navigator NCES.ED.GOV - College Navigator - National Center for Education

Statistics

• NACAC – Guide to College Admissions ProcessNACAC's Guide to the College Admission Process - National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) (nacacnet.org)

• BigFuture - Home – BigFuture | College Board

STATE OF COLLEGE ADMISSIONS

• NACAC Report

SELECTIVITY: TRENDS IN ACCEPTANCE RATES AT FOUR-YEAR COLLEGES

• Average Acceptance Rate 73%

• Average Number of Applicants 8,029

• Public Colleges vs Private Colleges

NC COLLEGES

• 17 Public UNC 4-year

• 52 Private 4-year Colleges & Universities

• 60 Public 2-year Community Colleges

• Avg Acceptance Rate 56.18%

Acceptance Rates, Scores, Requirements for North Carolina Colleges (univstats.com)

TIGHTEST NORTH CAROLINA SCHOOLS TO ADMIT - THE LOWEST ACCEPTANCE RATE

1 Duke University (6.35%)

2 Davidson College (16.95%)

3 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (17.11%)

4 Wake Forest University (21.37%)

5 Johnson C Smith University (25.28%)

TOP 10 FACTORS IN THE ADMISSIONS DECISION

1. High School Grades in College Prep Courses

2. Total HS Grades – All Courses

3. Strength of HS Curriculum

4. Positive Character Attributes

5. Essay or Writing Sample

6. Student’s Interest in attending

7. Counselor recommendation

8. Teacher recommendation

9. Extracurricular activities

10. HS class rank

11. Test Scores (ACT,SAT)

GRADES & STRENGTH OF CURRICULUM

• Grade Point Average is important

• Review GPA of Core vs GPA of ALL

• AP/IB/CCP/Honors

• School Profile gives perspective – (What was available at the school)

CHARACTER ATTRIBUTES

Essays

Recommendations

• Curiosity

• Leadership

• Persistence

• Risk-Taking

• Compassion

• Open Mindedness – Critical thinking

• Social Consciousness

• Creativity

• Collaboration

• Cultural Intelligence

EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

Time Management

• Sports

• Job

• Service

• Arts

• Family Responsibility

High School 9 – 12th Grade

Passions / Interests

• Clubs

• Internships

• Music

• Hobbies

• Leadership

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

• Be YOU

• What do you want?

• What do you need?

• Values?

• Culture

• Community

• Cost

• Research Schools

• Vision

• Mission

• Values

• Opportunities

• Cost

• Aid

• Student Life

THIS JOURNEY DOES NOT HAVE TO BE STRESSFUL.