The array of admissions models and the underlying, and sometimes conflicting goals people have for college admissions, create the dynamics and the tensions that define the contemporary context for enrollment management. The senior enrollment officer must ask, for example, how does an institution try to assure transparency, equality of access, develop talent, and reward hard work? How do institutions employ affirmative action policies to redress past injustices and student capacity, while also emphasizing transparency and reward past performance? Can open-admission colleges effectively employ an eligibility model to assure access to all while also increasing student persistence and the ability of all students to contribute? These are the kinds of questions that the thoughtful enrollment management officer brings to the arena of admissions policy and planning. In this essay, the authors focus primarily on the policy issues associated with the admissions process at four-year non-profit institutions. Issues such as admissions testing, affirmative action, and the admission practices of elite institutions are particularly pressing for four-year colleges and universities. The important concerns for community colleges and for-profit institutions are beyond the scope of this one essay. (Contains 1 footnote.)