The National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) commissioned this environmental scan of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices in college counseling and admission professions in concert with its other recent DEI-related research, training, and initiatives to address the urgent needs of today's students and institutions.…

Students need to be able to complete a meaningful higher education degree without crushing debt. That is the simple, straightforward perspective of Eric Waldo, Chief Access & Equity Programs Officer at the Common App and Executive Director of Michelle Obama's Reach Higher initiative. In an age where higher education may feel out of reach for…

Using race as a factor in admissions policies was contested in "Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin." Although the U.S. Supreme Court firmly held in "Grutter v. Bollinger" that race can be considered among many factors in admitting students, the recent decision in "Fisher" has posed many questions and challenges…

Three out of four jobs now require education or training beyond high school, yet some students face formidable barriers to attending college. Disruptions to K-12 education, trauma, loss, food insecurity, and housing instability are known impediments to the educational success of youth who have been in foster care. These types of challenges may…

This work uses original survey and interview data collected from 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006 public high school valedictorians in five states to pinpoint when, why, and how similarly accomplished youth become funneled toward different college destinations. To answer this question, a new and enhanced framework for studying students' choice of…

The annual US News and World Report (USNWR) Guide to America's Best Colleges is much anticipated by both high-ability high school seniors and college and university administrators. In this paper, we use a decade of Colgate University "Admitted Student Questionnaire" surveys to estimate the influence of changes in a school's USNWR rank on…

In Grutter v. Bollinger (2003), Justice Sandra Day O'Connor conjectured that in 25 years affirmative action in college admissions will be unnecessary. We project the test score distribution of black and white college applicants 25 years from now, focusing on the role of black-white family income gaps. Economic progress alone is unlikely to narrow…

With many of today's high school students having the opportunity to be the first in their families to attend college, parents undoubtedly feel the stress of making sure that their son/daughter is fully prepared to enter this phase of their life. Making the transition from high school to college can be overwhelming for both parents and students.…