Every year, ACT produces its College Choice Report, an annual report series that follows an ACT-tested high school graduating class from high school through their second year of college. Each year, they take a look at different aspects of issues relating to college choice and release that information at the AACRAO SEM Conference.
“While we do national top line review and give key findings, on the website we created an area where Enrollment Managers can dive into the data—not just on national level but an ability to look at individual states for comparative purposes,” says Steve Kappler, Interim Vice President, Marketing and Communications at ACT. “The website will be available when we release the report, and enrollment managers can go into that website and interact. It’s a really cool functional tool.”
AACRAO talked with Kappler about some of the report highlights, which will be covered in detail at this AACRAO SEM Conference later this month.
“We have three key findings that would be of special interest for AACRAO members,” he says.
1. More students in 2014 are testing earlier. “They’re testing as juniors as opposed to waiting until their senior year,” Kappler says. “This has implications for enrollment managers and for colleges that typically look only at juniors—the cohort will be bigger.”
There are even some shifts in the numbers of male and minority students shifting to junior-year testing--populations that in the past were more likely to not test until their senior year. This is due in part to more states funding for all juniors in the state to take the test. Next year, 20 states will administer the ACT to all juniors.
This bigger pool means enrollment managers may need to be more strategic about the parameters they use as the volume will be larger, Kappler notes.
2. Fewer students are sending free scores.
Students can sign up at the time of the test to send four free scores, but fewer students are taking advantage of this opportunity. “We’re trying to dive into what it means to be a score sender,” Kappler says. When students use this service, schools get more information about the student—such as noncognitive factors that may help with placement and retention. That information can help advisors understand what courses students should take and how they may want to get involved on campus—factors that can increase a student’s chance of success. “Without that data, it will take a semester to learn about them, and that may be too late.”
“Anecdotally, we hear that some high school counselors suggest not to send scores right away,” Kappler says. “That may not be the best piece of advice.” While all schools have policies related to test scores, typically, if schools receive more than one score, they only look at what they consider to be the best score.
Sending those free scores also helps institutions know how interested a student is—and often that student gets more attention from the school. “Those are the pieces of advice we need admissions counselors to be talking with high school guidance counselors about,” Kappler says. “Students get four free scores to send—and it is advantageous to everyone to take advantage of them.”
3. Students that opt-in to EOS (Educational Opportunity Service) enroll at higher rates.
Opting-in to EOS allows colleges to access students’ addresses and send them information. “It’s about getting them into the game,” Kappler says. “Those that opt-in, regardless of achievement level, enroll at higher rates versus those that do not.”
It gives students the opportunity to have conversations with more schools and find the right fit. Some high school counselors may advise students not to opt in to EOS—warning them they’ll just “get a bunch of stuff in the mail,” Kappler says. But for many students, receiving contacts from schools makes the possibility of going to college a reality.
“Getting recruited is an awesome feeling for a kid,” Kappler says. “These last two findings support that. Don’t rely on visiting websites and filling out forms; let the institution come to you.”
To learn more about ACT’s report and explore other SEM issues, join Kappler and other SEM colleagues at the 24th Annual AACRAO SEM Conference, Oct. 26-29 in L.A.
“Even after being in this business for 20 plus years, I always learn something new at AACRAO SEM,” Kappler says. “There are not many conferences I can put on that list, but AACRAO SEM is one of them.
Access last year's information -- find ACT's 2013 College Choice Report here.