As Student Numbers Fall, Some Colleges Make Admissions More Welcoming
By Emma Carter
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Intro
The college admissions process is beginning to feel less forbidding as some institutions compete more actively for a shrinking pool of students.
Vocabulary
| Word | Part of speech | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| undertaking noun | noun | Meaning: a demanding task or project requiring sustained effort and responsibility | Example: Completing the archival study became an undertaking that occupied the entire research team. |
| prospective adjective | adjective | Meaning: considered as a possible future participant, customer, or member | Example: The museum invited prospective donors to examine its restoration plans. |
| waiving verb | verb | Meaning: deliberately foregoing or cancelling a requirement, fee, or right | Example: The publisher is waiving submission fees for early-career researchers. |
| standardized adjective | adjective | Meaning: made consistent according to an established set of rules or measurements | Example: The researchers compared results using a standardized assessment protocol. |
| selective adjective | adjective | Meaning: choosing carefully and accepting relatively few of those considered | Example: The fellowship remains highly selective despite its expanded funding. |
| recruitment noun | noun | Meaning: the process of attracting and persuading people to join an organization or institution | Example: The orchestra redesigned its recruitment strategy to reach musicians from overlooked communities. |
| concrete adjective | adjective | Meaning: specific, tangible, and readily understood rather than abstract or merely promotional | Example: The proposal offers concrete evidence that the policy has produced measurable benefits. |
| intimidating adjective | adjective | Meaning: causing apprehension or loss of confidence because of apparent difficulty or power | Example: The intimidating scale of the negotiation initially discouraged smaller organizations. |
The story
For many families, applying to college has become an undertaking that resembles a part-time job. Students must research institutions, visit campuses, complete applications, and submit financial forms, often while managing schoolwork and other responsibilities. The process can feel particularly demanding when parents are working full time as well.
Yet some applicants are noticing a change in the tone of their encounters with colleges. Instead of presenting themselves as exclusive institutions whose attention must be earned, admissions offices are increasingly signaling that they want prospective students to enroll. The shift is especially visible at colleges that are under pressure to attract enough students to fill their places.
Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York, has made a notable effort in this direction. Its president, Marc Conner, said that welcoming students benefits both applicants and the institution, since campus visits can influence whether students ultimately enroll. Even though Skidmore is not among the colleges experiencing the greatest difficulty filling seats, it still depends on persuading visitors that the college is the right choice for them.
Other institutions are lowering practical barriers. Some are waiving application fees or offering additional financial aid to students who visit their campuses. Public universities in 17 states now admit some high school students who have not yet submitted an application. More than 150 private colleges also make direct admission offers to students who complete the Common App, a standardized online application used by approximately 1,200 institutions.
The broader pattern suggests that admission is becoming less selective in some parts of the sector: overall, students’ chances of being accepted are rising. A further change at Skidmore and a small number of other colleges is the involvement of faculty in recruitment. Professors are meeting prospective and admitted students and opening laboratories and classrooms to them—activities that admissions offices previously handled largely on their own.
This approach offers applicants a more concrete sense of academic life. Rather than encountering an institution only through promotional material, they can imagine being recognized, supported, and included there. For colleges, that personal connection may be decisive when students are comparing several offers. The result is an admissions culture that remains demanding, but is gradually becoming more transparent and less intimidating.
Warm-up questions
- What aspects of applying to college might make the process feel forbidding or opaque?
- When choosing an institution, how much does personal contact influence your sense of belonging?
Comprehension questions
- Why can applying to college resemble a part-time job?
- What change in admissions offices’ tone do applicants increasingly notice?
- Why does Skidmore still try to persuade campus visitors despite not facing the greatest enrollment difficulties?
- What practical barriers are some institutions lowering?
- How can faculty involvement affect applicants’ comparisons among colleges?
Opinion questions
- Do applicant-centered admissions practices improve access, or might they also weaken selectivity’s informational value?
- Would meeting faculty substantially influence your decision between otherwise comparable colleges? Why or why not?
Further discussion
- How might demographic change alter the balance of power between applicants and institutions?
- What forms of transparency could make admissions less intimidating without making the process impersonal?
Writing prompt
- Write a comparative analysis explaining how the article’s admissions changes redistribute responsibility and power between colleges and applicants.
