By Jon Marcus for The Hechinger Report.
Broadcast version by Zamone Perez for Maryland News Connection reporting for The Hechinger Report-Public News Service Collaboration

Nathan Smith has already sent three kids to college. But he's never seen anything like the volume of recruiting materials pouring in since his fourth child reached her senior year in high school this fall.

"If you put the other three together and multiplied it by four, that's how much mail she's gotten," said Smith, who takes a professional interest in this as chair of the Northern Kentucky University Board of Regents.

"What I see is that they're fishing," he said of the institutions that are appealing to his daughter to apply. "They can't catch the fish they want with just one pole. They've got to put in 10 poles. I think they're casting the net further and wider."

As enrollment in colleges and universities continues to decline - down by more than 2 million students, or 10 percent, in the 10 years ending 2022 - they're not only casting wider nets. Something else dramatic is happening to the college application process, for the first time in decades:

It's becoming easier to get in.

Colleges and universities, on average, are admitting a larger proportion of their applicants than they did 20 years ago, new research by the conservative think tank the American Enterprise Institute finds.

The median acceptance rate at bachelor's degree-granting universities and colleges was 7.6 percentage points higher in 2022 than it was in 2012, AEI found. Those are the most recent available admission figures reported to the federal government, and do not include institutions with open admission, which take 100 percent of applicants.

This comes after a period of steadily increasing competition to get into college since around the turn of the millennium, which aggravated fears among students and their families that they'd be rejected by the institutions of their choice. Widely reported impossibly low single-digit acceptance rates at the nation's most highly selective universities and colleges only made that apprehension worse.

Not surprisingly, 45 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds think it's harder to get into college than it was for their parents' generation, a survey by the Pew Research Center found.

In fact, 87 percent of nonprofit four-year colleges in 2022 took half or more of the students who applied to them, up from 80 percent in 2012, the AEI study found.

"It's really a small proportion that are accepting only single-digit proportions of their applicants," said Preston Cooper, a senior fellow at AEI, who conducted the research. "You're going to get in somewhere, and you're going to get into somewhere decent."

Separate data from the National Association for College Admission Counseling, or NACAC, shows that 78 percent of first-year applicants to public and 70 percent to private colleges and universities get in. That's up from 68 percent and 65 percent, respectively, since 2014.

Being accepted to college "is easier than people think," said Melissa Clinedinst, NACAC's director of research initiatives and partnerships. "That's the message we've been trying to get out for years."

It's basic math. Enrollment has been going down for more than 10 years. Freshman enrollment this fall dropped by another 5 percent. And federal data show the number of high school graduates going directly to college has fallen from a high of 70 percent in 2015 to 62 percent in 2022, the most recent year for which the figure is available.

As fewer people apply, colleges are forced to accept a larger proportion of them. And with a projected decline in the number of 18-year-olds, Cooper said, it's likely that getting into college will continue to get easier.

The chances of getting into Fordham University rose from 43 percent to 54 percent between 2012 and 2022, federal data analyzed by The Hechinger Report found; into George Washington University, from 33 percent to 49 percent; into Hofstra, from 59 percent to 69 percent; into Indiana University Bloomington, from 74 percent to 82 percent; into Marquette, from 55 percent to 87 percent; and into Michigan State, from 71 percent to 88 percent.

Fordham spokesman Bob Howe said that university's acceptance rate went up, in part, because high school seniors are applying to more colleges, which "has required us to temporarily shift our acceptance rate."

At Indiana University Bloomington, spokesman Mark Bode said the higher acceptance rate was due partly to an increase in the size of entering classes. Bode provided data showing that standardized test scores and high school grade-point averages of admitted students have also gone up.

The other institutions did not respond to requests for comment.

The news for students isn't all good. To lock in the dwindling pool of customers, some universities and colleges are expanding their use of so-called early decision, which generally requires successful applicants to accept an offer of admission far earlier than the usual May 1 deadline.

That not only leaves fewer seats available through the general admission process, data from the Common Application shows; it also largely excludes low-income and first-generation students, who may not be aware of the option or can't afford to agree to an offer before learning how much institutional financial aid they'll get.

"There's just not a world where they can apply early decision to that institution without knowing whether or not they can afford it," said Karla Robles-Reyes, chief program officer at OneGoal, a nonprofit that provides advising and support to low-income students.

Many top schools take at least half of their students through early decision, including the University of Pennsylvania and Dartmouth, Brown, Cornell, Duke and Vanderbilt universities, according to Education Reform Now, which advocates for students from lower-income families.

Eighty-four selective universities and colleges admit a third or more of their students through early decision, and 55 of those have in the last few years increased the proportion who get in this way, Education Reform Now reports.

At Tulane, the proportion of applicants admitted through early decision rose from 28 percent in 2018 to 68 percent in 2022; at Grinnell, from 44 percent to 69 percent; and at Middlebury, from 58 percent to 69 percent, according to data each institution is required to disclose.

The perception that admission is hypercompetitive has historically worked in colleges' favor. Many hype their selectivity and benefit from the idea that they're exclusive. This also fuels an industry of private college counselors, tutors and test prep companies.

"Colleges do want to cultivate this idea that they're prestigious and selective, and you should want to pay a lot of money for them," said Cooper, of AEI."They like the idea of being a sought-after good."

That can discourage some young people from applying.

"We worry in general about the perception that college is harder to get into than it actually is, and that it might limit students' aspirations," said NACAC's Clinedinst.

Yet only 33 colleges or universities nationwide took 10 percent or fewer of the people who applied, according to NACAC.

At a few of those, the competition has gotten even tougher. Brown University accepted 5 percent of applicants in 2022, down from 17 percent in 2002, the AEI study found.

But most other institutions are getting easier to get into, not harder, Cooper found.

"If students internalize this message, that could reduce some of their anxiety," he said.


Jon Marcus wrote this article for The Hechinger Report.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.


get more stories like this via email

In the new year, college applications in Minnesota will look a little different: They will no longer feature an initial question about a person's criminal history, a move supporters said creates better futures for those seeking higher education.

A new state law just took effect, prohibiting Minnesota's public and private colleges and universities from asking about applicants' criminal past on the initial forms they fill out, except for programs such as law enforcement.

Sen. Clare Oumou Verbeten, DFL-St. Paul, sponsored the bill and she said by boosting access to higher education, they are giving applicants an outlet to reconcile with their past and chart a new course.

"It's about giving people an opportunity to explain their stories and their situations and not putting them in a position where they don't even want to try," Verbeten explained. "That's really the hardest thing about when there is that box is a lot of people just give up."

The change is a recommendation from the federal Beyond the Box report of 2023. Research shows nearly two-thirds of those who disclosed felony convictions did not submit their application. Amid efforts across the U.S., some schools still express concern about public safety. Verbeten argued Minnesota's law strikes a good balance and gives schools the opportunity to follow up before a student is enrolled.

Will Cooley, policy director for the Minnesota Justice Research Center, testified in favor of the plan. He said generally speaking, similar moves have enjoyed bipartisan support, including in conservative states like Louisiana.

"I have worked on Ban the Box campaigns in the past," Cooley recounted. "One thing that really struck me was the broad swath of supporters, religious congregations, chambers of commerce, formerly incarcerated people, the list goes on."

The federal report cited findings showing no significant difference between the campus crime rates of schools emphasizing looking into applicants' criminal background and institutions which did not. The authors also noted educational achievement reduces recidivism by 48%, easing pressure on state and federal budgets when factoring incarceration costs.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.


get more stories like this via email

Connecticut is launching its Student Loan Reimbursement Program Jan. 1.

The program was created through legislation passed by the state's General Assembly earlier this year. With $6 million in funding, it will reduce state borrowers more than $18 billion in student loan debt. Aside from being a Connecticut resident for five consecutive years, they need to have performed 50 hours of volunteer work at an approved organization in 2024.

Michael Criscuolo, associate administrative fiscal officer for the Connecticut Office of Higher Education, mentioned some of the other eligibility requirements.

"They must have an outstanding student loan balance," Criscuolo outlined. "And during 2024, have paid towards a Federal Direct loan, a Direct Plus loan, a Perkins loan, a state-sponsored student loan or even a private loan."

The reimbursement is based on how much a person paid toward their loan this year. If they paid $100 a month, they could receive $1,200 of debt relief. Some could receive up to $5,000 dollars a year with a $20,000 cap over four years. The program is first come, first served.

Criscuolo pointed out response to the program has been overwhelmingly positive. He noted there are many frequently asked questions regarding eligibility or whether an organization counts for the volunteer requirement but he added people are looking forward to the launch.

"People think that it's a great program," Criscuolo observed. "We're anticipating hundreds of thousands of applications. It's capped at $6 million, and we're anticipating that we can pay between 1,200 and 3,000 students."

The totals will depend on how much money people have paid toward their loans. He emphasized any time people can alleviate debt from student loans is helpful. Under President Joe Biden's student loan debt forgiveness, more than 7,200 Connecticut borrowers had more than $309 million forgiven.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.


get more stories like this via email

Indiana families see value in higher education, but many are still confused about how to pay for it.

A new survey by INvestEd, a nonprofit based in the state, shows 83% of Hoosiers believe in the importance of postsecondary education.

However, concerns about student loan debt and filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, leave some hesitant.

INvestEd Vice President of Marketing Bill Wozniak said families often feel overwhelmed navigating financial aid.

"That confusion really leads people to often walk away from post-secondary education all together," said Wozniak, "or sometimes, make bad choices and over-borrow."

Indiana recently improved FAFSA completion rates despite national challenges. Updates to the application caused delays, but Wozniak said the process has greatly improved this year.

The priority deadline for filing is April 15, 2025.

According to Wozniak, families must act quickly to access key programs like the Frank O'Bannon Grant and 21st Century Scholars program.

"Glitches and problems could be ironed out for the most part before the new year began," said Wozniak. "And we are very happy to report that the form is performing extremely well."

INvestEd provides free support to students and families through 900 events each year, plus online and phone help. Officials emphasize that higher education is attainable with the right guidance.

For more information, visit investedindiana.org or call 317-715-9007.



get more stories like this via email