This descriptive, cross-sectional, mixed methods study focused on an anonymous state-wide nonprofit organization in a mid-Atlantic state and the perspectives and insights of the mentors who work directly with first-generation immigrant high school students as they assist their mentees through the college and scholarship application process. The…

As the technological world continues to grow and expand, the use of social media marketing continues to increase. Graduate programs looking to increase the number of applications received can turn to Facebook to market their programs. This study looks at the use of self-presentation, from a graduate program level of Facebook use, to create content…

In a pilot program during the 2016-17 admissions cycle, the University of California, Berkeley invited many applicants for freshman admission to submit letters of recommendation. This proved controversial within the university, with concerns that this change would further disadvantage applicants from disadvantaged groups. To inform this debate, we…

Prospective college students--particularly students of color and those from low-income families--face a myriad of challenges applying to and enrolling in college, including constraints on information, financial aid, and academic preparation. Within the college search process alone, the number, diversity, and complexity of applications that…

Underrepresented minority (URM) students face unique challenges when pursuing graduate education, with some not even considering the possibility of pursuing a graduate degree. This paper describes a nontraditional approach to the graduate application process that involves identification of potential applicants by graduate faculty and staff at The…

The researchers explored how the migrant students characterized their experiences in the College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) program at a predominately White institution in Georgia and how they developed identity in this qualitative study. Interviews with seven migrant students were transcribed and coded for themes using Baxter Magolda's…

In-person college advising programs generate large improvements in college persistence and success for low-income students but face numerous barriers to scale. Remote advising models offer a promising strategy to address informational and assistance barriers facing the substantial majority of low-income students who do not have access to…

Young people growing up in England from a poorer background are less likely to progress into higher education compared to their better off counterparts. This is especially true with respect to more selective universities. This study used government administrative data to gauge the effectiveness of the 'Realising Opportunities' programme, which…

High-performing first-generation and economically disadvantaged students are more likely to attend colleges and universities that are less competitive than their academic qualifications allow, which makes them less likely to graduate. EMERGE is a multiyear, personalized college advising program that aims to address this problem by preparing…

While Black students have experienced significant growth in college enrollment since the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Higher Education Act of 1965, they are still less likely than their white counterparts to attend and graduate from a post-secondary institution (Ryan & Bauman, 2016). There have been previous studies on college…

Pre-college access programs operating in high schools commonly focus on assisting underserved and historically excluded populations of students in preparing for, applying to, and enrolling in postsecondary education. Through two analyses, this study examines the efficacy of two types of access programs in facilitating postsecondary enrollment and…

College admissions in the U.S. is decentralized, with students applying separately to each school. This creates frictions in the college admissions process and, if substantial, might ultimately limit student choice. In this paper, we study the introduction of the Common Application (CA) platform, under which students submit a single application to…

This paper describes the effects of two variants of a virtual college-counseling intervention designed to reduce informational and social support barriers to college application and enrollment among socioeconomically disadvantaged students. Students who were randomly assigned to the program felt more supported during the college application…

Background/Context: Policies featuring individualized learning plans (ILPs) have become increasingly popular among states seeking to improve college and career readiness through early postsecondary planning. Although ILPs are featured in legislation for more than 35 states, limited work has been done on measuring their effectiveness to ensure that…

There is a growing debate in social science and education policy research on how to improve college access for high-performing students from low-income or first-generation backgrounds. While some studies suggest that providing information to students impacts college access, other studies do not and suggest that students may need more support in…