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Perks of being a legacy student can go beyond the admissions office

Jul 31, 2023
While some colleges are dropping their legacy admissions policy, there are less formal benefits for those with family connections.
Occidental College, a Los Angeles private school, is among the latest institutions to end legacy admissions.
Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Wesleyan ditches legacy admissions

Jul 20, 2023
But many schools are expected to hang on to legacy admissions for financial reasons.
Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images

Race-based affirmative action at colleges is over. Now what?

Jun 30, 2023
Some schools might weigh socio-economic status more heavily. Others could consider reducing legacy admits
Colleges are thinking about how they can maintain diverse student populations without race-based affirmative action.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Automatic college admissions can be a boon to students and schools alike

Aug 15, 2022
More schools are willing to say: If your grades (and maybe test scores) are good enough, you're in!
Some colleges are opting for a direct admissions approach to accepting students — no college applications required.
Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images

Would a new public college campus in California help provide spots for more qualified students?

Mar 31, 2022
There aren't enough seats at 4-year universities for qualified students. How can the state meet the rising demand?
Miranda Evans, special projects manager for the city of Chula Vista, stands on the site that the city has designated for a university or group of universities.
Jill Replogle/KPCC

The college test prep industry is changing, as more and more schools make the tests optional

Jan 27, 2022
Some students looking for merit aid and other scholarships still seek tutoring and other help to prepare.
Tests are becoming less of a factor in the college admissions process.
basar17/Getty Image

The SAT is going digital

Jan 25, 2022
Test prep has been a lucrative part of the college admissions business for decades. That might be changing.
The College Board announced that the SAT is going digital for good.

For public good, not for profit.

Admission by lottery: A proposal to reimagine college acceptance

Jul 2, 2021
Harvard's Michael Sandel says a lottery conveys "what is true in any case: that luck matters as much as effort in admission."
"College is not the engine of upward mobility we assume it to be," says Harvard professor Michael Sandel. He says a lottery for admissions would change that.
Glen Cooper/Getty Images

With tests optional, selective colleges report more applicants and longer waitlists

Apr 5, 2021
Many colleges waived their standardized test requirements because of the pandemic, opening the gates for more students to apply.
Some tests were canceled due to safety concerns, and many testing sites closed.
michaelquirk via Getty Images

College admissions is a business, and the pandemic could upend it

Oct 5, 2020
In his new book, Jeff Selingo looks at how some colleges must compete for applicants, and why the COVID-19 pandemic could make this competition even tighter.
A student moving into the University of Colorado Boulder on Aug. 18, 2020.
Mark Makela/Getty Images

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