November 2005 Lawlor Focus
Searching for Seniors
Most of us believe the days when a college search was part of just the senior year of high school are long gone. After all, the typical college begins recruiting students in the junior, if not sophomore, year, and most college-bound students show interest in the college search by the eleventh grade. But, there are students who begin the process as seniors, and recent data from ACT, based on the class of 2004, suggests those students are at a significant disadvantage in terms of access to and participation in higher education.
According to ACT, a student's date of first-testing corresponds to specific enrollment patterns, and those who first test as seniors are less likely to enroll in any type of higher education. This is due in part to the fact that most admission offices search for junior names: 90 percent of all the junior names available through ACT for the class of 2004 were purchased. However, buying the names of seniors is not as popular. The result was that 41 percent, or 141,952, of the students who took the ACT Assessment for the first time as seniors did not have their name searched by a single institution—and 44,566 scored 20 or higher on the exam.
The significance of this phenomenon goes well beyond the numbers: "Late" testers tend to be underrepresented students. With the exception of Asian-American students, minority students are more likely to first test as seniors: two-thirds of African-American students first take the ACT Assessment in their senior year, as compared to Caucasian students, 60 percent of whom take the exam for the first time as juniors.
Given the search preferences of colleges and universities and the testing tendencies of minority students, underrepresented students are much less likely to be involved in the search process than their Caucasian peers, 82 percent of whom had their names purchased (for African-American students it was only 62 percent, for Hispanic students it was 68 percent, and 69 percent of Native American students had their names purchased).
Students whose names are "searched" by colleges are more likely to enroll in higher education since higher testing frequencies lead to more exposure and more opportunities. This is particularly true for underrepresented populations, according to ACT’s own data: If their names are purchased by any institution, Native American high school seniors are 50 percent more likely to enroll in higher education; Hispanic and African-American students are 28 and 22 percent, respectively, more likely to gain access to higher education when their names are purchased in the senior year.
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ACT's data about the characteristics of students who wait until their senior year to take their first college entrance exam reveals more than just the consequences for these students. By searching for seniors, colleges and universities can realize a tremendous opportunity to improve minority student access to higher education, as well as improve their own targeted population enrollment.
ACT data shows that less than half of African-American students take the ACT Assessment before their senior year in high school, and this is true whether the student goes on to attend a private four-year college, a two-year community college or a vocational school. The result? Only 62 percent of all African-American ACT test takers in the class of 2004 had their name purchased by any institution of higher education.
The number of times a student's name is purchased is connected to his/her likelihood to access higher education. Students who take the ACT as juniors are more likely to re-test to raise their scores—a pattern that gets their names in front of colleges multiple times. With the exception of Asian Americans, minority students are more likely to wait until their senior year to take the exam. A search targeted at senior test-takers is likely to yield more minority student names, of all abilities. In the graduating class of 2004, just over 17,000 seniors took the ACT, scored a 24 or higher, and did not have their name purchased by any institution. With slight modifications in search patterns, enrollment officers have a real opportunity to not only better meet their own institutional goals but to genuinely impact minority students' access to higher education.
In the News: Student Debt Impacts Future
For many college graduates today, two new economic realities are at work: Many had to borrow a lot of money to attend college, and as soon as they entered school they took advantage of credit cards. By the age of 30 many have accumulated thousands of dollars of debt, and imprudent choices sometimes have compounded their troubles.
The consequences are profoundly impacting their lives, forcing them to compromise on some of life's vital decisions, according to student lender Nellie Mae. In 2002, 55 percent of all borrowers felt hampered by debt in some way: They changed career plans, gave up on graduate school, and put off buying a home, getting married or having kids. "This is the first generation who won't necessarily do better than their parents," predicts Tamara Draut, director of the economic opportunity program at Demos, a research and advocacy organization in New York.
The increasing cost of higher education has led to more students borrowing tens of thousands of dollars to attend college, ensuring that many of them are paying off those loans well into their 40s. The median debt-to-income ratio is now about 8 percent. But fully one-quarter of graduates are paying more than 12 percent of their income toward debt, a level many financial experts regard as worryingly high. That burden will only grow: interest rates on student loans are going up for the first time in five years.
Web Sites to Watch
- Student Debt Alert
- A coalition of student Public Interest Research Groups from different states has created a new web site with personal stories and information about policy related to student debt. Visit the Student Debt Yearbook, where schools are listed with entries by current students who describe their own debt—and their outlook on the situation.
- Students Review
- Run by MIT students, this web site claims to offer uncensored, statistically accurate reviews of U.S. colleges and universities. For each institution, students and alumni rate factors from education quality, campus safety and the surrounding city to campus maintenance. The "comments" section for each school is enlightening.
Did You Know?
Recognizing the growing importance of an international experience, U.S. students are heading abroad in record numbers. The number of American students studying abroad for academic credit increased by 9.6 percent in 2003-04, building on the previous year's 8.5 percent increase. This surge in interest brings the total number of U.S. students abroad to a record 191,321, according to "Open Doors 2005," the annual report on international education published by the Institute of International Education with funding from the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
Study abroad in non-traditional destinations is expanding rapidly, especially to countries where American students see potential career opportunities. Of particular note are large increases in the number of U.S. students who chose to study in China and India, two countries of growing economic importance to the United States. Study abroad in China increased by a dramatic 90 percent to 4,737 (making China the 9th-leading host destination for American students), while the number of students going to India increased by 65 percent.
From the Institute of International Education
If you would like The Lawlor Group to help evaluate or facilitate your Student Search practices, please e-mail tlg@thelawlorgroup.com or call 800.972.4345.
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