This research endeavors to introduce a comprehensive scale tailored to gauge high school students' attitudes toward AI-based interviews for university admissions. Moreover, the study delves into the impact of information provisioning on students' attitudes toward AI-based interviews. The participant cohort comprised 604 high school students, who…

Year 12 students in Big Picture Learning schools across Australia now use portfolios and interviews to apply for and gain entry to their first choice of university degree. They receive admission on the strength of portfolio evidence mapped to a new non-ATAR qualification, known as the International Big Picture Learning Credential (IBPLC). Since…

For the past decade and a half, many institutions of higher education have asked about high school disciplinary experiences, including suspensions, on their applications. Advocates have argued that this "discipline box" has a negative effect on suspended students' likelihood to apply and be accepted to institutions of higher education…

The perceived disadvantage faced by high school students from rural areas in pursuing higher education is often associated with the fact that these areas are by default affected by socio-economic disadvantages. The analysis of the results from the high school baccalaureate examination for Romania, which is mandatory for admission to higher…

We examine private supplementary tutoring within the context of Finnish general upper secondary education. Specifically, we focus on profit-driven private preparatory course providers who cater to individual students and their families, aiming to improve applicants' prospects of gaining access to higher education. We examine this during a time…

Obtaining a postsecondary certificate or degree has been correlated with improved job opportunities, increased earning capacity, and better overall quality of life. Despite these benefits, a considerable proportion of students from rural schools exhibit a lower likelihood of pursuing postsecondary education than their urban counterparts. The…

Student engagement is a widely used approach for evaluation of the quality of higher education in many countries, because it is considered as a proxy for student learning and academic outcomes, especially when direct measures are unavailable. Pre-college characteristics can affect student engagement and should be taken into account when this…

This article discusses the evolution of college access and the potential consequences of continuing to define college access as initial enrollment. The process of reframing college access as an ongoing process, which may be challenging, is required, and higher education will benefit significantly as a result. The authors propose recommendations to…

Recent de-tracking reforms in some German federal states converted or merged the two lower track secondary school types into a comprehensive one, where students can achieve all school-leaving qualifications. The goals of the reforms were to facilitate desegregation of students from different socioeconomic backgrounds and to reduce educational…

Current, traditional-aged prospective college students are undergoing their college-going decision process in a "constantly connected" world. The purpose of this research was to explore and better understand how peer influence through social media may be influencing the decisions that current traditional-aged prospective college students…

Widening participation in higher education for under-represented groups is a priority internationally. In Australia, the most common entry pathway for domestic undergraduate students is by obtaining an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) in the final year of secondary school. The ATAR system, however, has been criticised as disadvantaging…

Annual rankings provide easily consumable quantitative information that prospective students and their families use to make decisions about applications and admissions offers. One popular ranking is Princeton Review's Party Schools, which receives national attention and condemnation by institutional leaders. We analyzed IPEDS and Clery Act data…

The movie "Try Harder!" features a group of students at Lowell High School in San Francisco, California, as they navigate their elite public institution and apply to top-tier universities. A critical analysis of this film allows us to understand new trends and emerging discourses in urban cities, showing the way racialized groups are pit…

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…

In her 2024 State of the State address, New York Governor Kathy Hochul introduced the Top 10% Promise, a policy offering New York students ranked in the top 10% of their high school class direct admission to the State University of New York (SUNY) system. "Access to higher education," she said, "has the potential to transform the…