As Student Numbers Fall, Some Colleges Make Admissions More Welcoming

Study the questions and tasks

Work through the material below, or start the interactive practice above to complete an attempt. Try the exercises before opening any answer or transcript sections, then use them to review your work.

Practice level

C2. Try this level if you can follow the instructions and understand most of the language; choose an earlier level if you need more support.

Question formats

Fill in the blank (dropdown)

How to approach this practice

Read the complete sentence and notice the subject, verb form, time reference and word order before answering.

1. Question 1 · Fill in the blank (dropdown)

   Choose the correct option for each blank.

   The admissions office recommended that faculty members ___ prospective students during the visit.

   Choices for blank 1

   1. meet
   2. meets
   3. met
   4. meeting
   Check answers and explanations

   Blank 1

   meet

   The mandative subjunctive requires the bare infinitive after recommended that.

2. Question 2 · Fill in the blank (dropdown)

   Choose the correct option for each blank.

   Had Skidmore not made campus visits more welcoming, some students ___ elsewhere.

   Choices for blank 1

   1. might have enrolled
   2. might enroll
   3. will have enrolled
   4. would enrolling
   Check answers and explanations

   Blank 1

   might have enrolled

   This mixed conditional requires a modal perfect result after a past unreal condition.

3. Question 3 · Fill in the blank (dropdown)

   Choose the correct option for each blank.

   The college introduced fee waivers, thereby ___ a practical barrier for applicants.

   Choices for blank 1

   1. removing
   2. removed
   3. to remove
   4. removes
   Check answers and explanations

   Blank 1

   removing

   Thereby is followed by a gerund describing the resulting action.

4. Question 4 · Fill in the blank (dropdown)

   Choose the correct option for each blank.

   The more directly applicants experience academic life, the ___ their judgments about institutional fit become.

   Choices for blank 1

   1. more precise
   2. most precise
   3. precisest
   4. precisely
   Check answers and explanations

   Blank 1

   more precise

   Correlative comparison requires the comparative adjective more precise.

5. Question 5 · Fill in the blank (dropdown)

   Choose the correct option for each blank.

   The president described the initiative as ___ to both applicants and the institution.

   Choices for blank 1

   1. beneficial
   2. benefit
   3. benefiting
   4. benefited
   Check answers and explanations

   Blank 1

   beneficial

   The adjective beneficial correctly completes the described-as complement.

6. Question 6 · Fill in the blank (dropdown)

   Choose the correct option for each blank.

   The institutions, ___ enrollment had declined, expanded their outreach efforts.

   Choices for blank 1

   1. whose
   2. which
   3. who
   4. whom
   Check answers and explanations

   Blank 1

   whose

   Whose correctly expresses possession within the nonrestrictive relative clause.

7. Question 7 · Fill in the blank (dropdown)

   Choose the correct option for each blank.

   Not until colleges faced sustained enrollment pressure ___ they reconsider their admissions practices.

   Choices for blank 1

   1. did
   2. have
   3. they did
   4. had they
   Check answers and explanations

   Blank 1

   did

   Fronted negative inversion requires auxiliary did before the subject.

8. Question 8 · Fill in the blank (dropdown)

   Choose the correct option for each blank.

   Faculty involvement is likely to make applicants feel ___ included in campus life.

   Choices for blank 1

   1. more genuinely
   2. more genuine
   3. most genuinely
   4. genuinely more
   Check answers and explanations

   Blank 1

   more genuinely

   The passive-like complement requires the past participle included.

What to review next

After checking an answer, explain the rule in your own words and write a new sentence using the same pattern. Revisit any rules you could not explain.

A focused practice result shows how you did on these tasks. Use several activities across skills to decide what to study next; one practice score does not certify an overall CEFR level.