What Colleges Can Learn About Applicants From When They Apply

By James Roche. Several years ago, as director of institutional research and a member of the enrollment-management team at Washington State University, I and some of my colleagues were reviewing our admissions process. As we pored over an already-very-thorough application-review procedure to see what else we could consider, one member of the group joked that maybe we should just admit students as they applied, first come first served, until we hit our enrollment target. While we never pursued that route, the idea made me wonder if there was a connection between when in the admissions cycle applicants submitted their application and other factors, such as their incoming quality measures and their performance and persistence at the university. Read more...