As parents and students are thinking about potential colleges and universities to enroll in this year, we wanted to bring you all an article on the possible directions college admissions may be headed towards in 2019.
Utilizing the National Association for College Admission Counseling's (NACAC) annual State of College Admissions report, we dissect the details of what admissions officers are looking for in their student applicants. The report contains additional data on what has changed from year to year and more.
Read on for college admissions trends and insights that parents and students can expect for 2019.
Early Admissions Options
Thinking about applying for early admission at a specific college your child is really interested in? Go for it.
As reported by NACAC, colleges affirm that there has been an increase in the early decision (5%) and early action (10%) admissions. The rise in accepted early applicants coincides with the growth in the early decision and early action applications. Colleges state that early decision applications grew by 4% on average, and early action applications rising by 9%.
You may be wondering, what is the difference between early decision and early action?
Early decision (ED): these plans are binding. Students who agree to early decision offers must attend the college.
Early action (EA): these plans are non-binding. Students receive an early answer to their college application but are not committed to the school until the standard response date of May 1st.
For more details and information about ED and EA, see here.
So why the sudden trend in higher acceptance rates with ED and EA applicants? Well, the proportion of admitted of students who end up actually enrolling remains in decline — dropping from 36.2% four years ago to 33.6%. Given this information, many colleges are finding it more complicated to forecast the percentage of student applicants who will accept. Thus, the allure of early decision and early applications. Universities are gradually relying on these binding acceptances and responses.
Expect to see numerous colleges and universities to offer and push for rounds of early decision and early application options in the 2019 college admissions trend.
English Proficiency Exam Scores
Is your child an international student hoping to study abroad and excel at their dream university? For many foreign students, the English Proficiency exam score will be a top component of successful admission. While the SAT and ACT remain important marks, colleges are ranking English proficiency as their major factor when taking into account international applicants.
For foreign student applicants whose primary language is not English, consider taking extra prep courses for the TOEFL. The TOEFL exam is an English language proficiency test, with the intention of helping students attend English-speaking institutes. Learn more here.
7EDU Impact Academy offers one-on-one tutoring services for the TOEFL, contact us at (408) 216-9109.
College Application Essay
If you are a U.S. or international student applicant, the written college application essay is still the most significant supplementary factor used by schools to evaluate candidates. More than 75% of universities are allotting a substantial amount of attention to this particular application component.
The college application essay is the one occasion and chance that a student is given to talk to the admission officer. Candidates who utilize this element of the application process often write about personal topics that cannot be revealed anywhere else on their applications.