This study examines the impact of the costs of college and student financial support in the college choice process, especially as it relates to the economically disadvantaged. Although higher education research has given some significant consideration to the role of socioeconomic status on educational choice, this paper investigates both the…

Red states, blue states. Maybe in politics there are differences, but when it comes to progressive transfer policies, the color-line division disappears. From the Northeast to the mid-Atlantic states to the Florida peninsula, across the Great Plains to the Southwest and on to California, state public higher education systems have made, and…

This article presents two stories that represent a common paradigm shift at the community college level. The life journeys of Tony and Mary Ann are very different. Tony, a traditional-aged student, reluctantly entered his local community college because he was unable to prove, scholastically, that he was capable of handling the coursework at his…

While admission to a community college is simple--"apply and you're in!"--the institution itself is quite complex. Community colleges serve several purposes: transfer, vocational, recreational, and remedial. Community colleges see students through many lenses. Can we bring clarity and focus to the picture of the community college student? What…

The number of students with learning disabilities enrolling in colleges and universities is increasing each year. Affirming effectiveness of resources and programs meant to support students' integration into the campus community involves multilayered research, because the subjects must be self-advocating to get the full advantages the resources…

Community colleges enroll nearly half the undergraduates in the U.S. These institutions play a significant role in the academic, social, political, and economic future of our nation. As historically open admission institutions, with a primary focus on providing access to higher education, they have been pressed in recent decades--as has all of…

In the past, an honors program at a community college may have seemed like a contradiction in terms. After all, honors students at four-year colleges are thought to be the best of the best, while community college students are often considered "diamonds in the rough." Many community college honors students have intellectual abilities that may not…

There is no shortage of places in higher education--most noncompetitive colleges could admit more students, but institutions often struggle to get the class that they want. Professionals consider the admission process successful when they are able to configure a class that meets the institution's many missions and notions, rather than just…

As colleges and universities adopt marketing orientations to an ever-increasing extent, the relative merits of mass marketing and target marketing must also be explored. Researchers identify buyer types as potential students focused on quality, value or economy. On the other axis, learner types are described as those who focus on career,…

This study examined pre-college variables from an admission-office perspective and the ability of these variables to predict college grade point average (GPA) for students specially admitted into an academic support program for at-risk students. The research was conducted at a private, highly-selective, research university in the southwest United…

While students are the center of the college admission process, the individual student is transient within the process, involved for a short amount of time, trying to get a spot in the freshman class of a university. Counselors and admission officers are the stewards of the process, the keepers of the code and the architects of the maze. In this…

High on any required reading list for college-level student affairs officers and high school counselors is "Millennials Rising: The Next Great Generation" by Neil Howe and William Strauss (2000). Experts on generational change in the United States, the authors contend that the current generation of college-age and pre-college-age students…

Throughout the country and through the years, several colleges and universities have been the focal point of violence and tragedy. These tragedies include the brutal beating and murder of a gay student; a campus bonfire that killed 12 students and alumni; a residence hall fire that claimed the lives of three students; terrorist activities in two…

This study represented a formal quantitative evaluation of the potential for instant messenger (IM) technology as an outreach tool for undergraduate college admission. Conclusions focused on the popularity of IM, and student use in a formal counselor/student relationship. (Contains 4 tables and 2 figures.)

American Indians are among the most underrepresented and underserved groups in higher education. Fifty-one out of every 100 American Indians graduate from high school. Of these 1, only 7 percent will enroll in college and ultimately earn a bachelor's degree within six years. Some American-Indian students fail to complete their studies for…