Virtually in: alternative acceptance practices are expanding among IHEs, handled well, here's a win-win for all. (The Admissions Angle).

Suddenly--just when high school counselors and college applicants think they've gotten a handle on the basics of the admissions process--enrollment managers are introducing variations into the acceptance process. Yes, school counselors, parents, colleges, and the media have been focusing on the early decision and alternative early notification (Early Action, Rolling Admission) plans that colleges use to entice more students to commit to their institution in a competitive market. But another set of tactics to land the best and brightest and fulfill enrollment goals is quietly evolving on many campuses. Alternative admissions acceptance plans are in full swing at an increasing number of institutions that range from small liberal arts colleges to elite research universities and public institutions. The result? Some students find themselves confused about their admittance status. Have I been admitted, or rejected? Do they really want me in their institution? they wonder. Often, they sense they've been put in some kind of limbo--and that may not be too far off the mark. It all depends on how the admissions team handles it.

BENEFITS TO THE IHE

One of the primary institutional advantages of the new acceptance alternatives is the ability to stretch the size of the incoming class without creating stress on facilities and resources. Here, finally, is an excellent way to enroll more talented applicants in selective institutions rather than denying them admission (with the certain knowledge that they will enroll in a peer competitor institution). Alternative acceptances can also serve as a means to control the incoming class population. With the significant increases in tuition and the resulting larger number of applications for financial aid, admissions officers want to have some degree of control over the size of their entering class, since some alternatively accepted students could be offered fall enrollment if an unexpected change in fall enrollment occurs in the late spring or early summer. And with the retention rate of each incoming class a serious concern in most colleges and universities, building a "reservoir" of students can ensure a healthy enrollment in the last two to three years of each class.

LOOKING AT THE PRACTICES

Many of the latest wrinkles in acceptance practices are fast on their way to becoming permanent creases in the fabric of college admissions practices, so if you're not yet familiar with them, now's the time to see what they took like.

Second-semester admission. An applicant is offered a place in the incoming class, not for the fall term but for the winter/spring term. The student is free to utilize the suddenly found free term in any manner he sees fit. This practice has proven effective, particularly in smaller selective liberal arts colleges such as Middlebury College (VT), Duke University (NC), Bates College (ME), and Skidmore College (NY), but also at a research university like Cornell University (NY). After the initial disappointment or confusion regarding the alternative acceptance, many students realize they have an opportunity to spend the free term working, traveling, studying abroad, or pursuing a particular interest or talent without the demands of school. This opportunity, for many students, has actually proven to be a deciding factor in accepting a particular college's offer. (Students who opt for midyear admission invariably make plans to graduate with their entering classmates by taking summer courses at some point or adding courses during their time at the college.)

Deferred admission. Some of the most selective colleges in the country use deferred admission (normally, admission is deferred a full year after graduation) as a way to deal with special or sensitive applicant cases. The typical case involves a qualified but not outstanding son or daughter of an active alum or politically connected family, wherein outright acceptance runs the risk of alienating the secondary school involved and embarrassing the university. Harvard University (MA) and other elite schools engage in this strategy year in and year out. In some instances, the student in question is challenged to enhance his overall record in order to win that place for the following year.

Alternate college/school admission. Some applicants are admitted into a second- or even third-choice school or college within the university. In play here is an element of quality and enrollment control within departments. This practice quite naturally works well within larger universities. Syracuse University (NY), for example, asks students to list on their application a second choice of school within the university. The admissions committee will frequently make the choice for a candidate who is seen as admissible, albeit not for his first-choice program. Other universities will admit a candidate to a different campus program that is less competitive. Emory University (GA), for example, will offer admission to its Oxford College program and campus to qualified but not outstanding candidates. George Washington University (DC) will offer a place in its Mount Vernon campus.

General studies admission. Boston University and New York University will offer an acceptable, but not top profile, candidate a place in their general or basic studies colleges. This is a two-year introductory program with a commitment to the student that if she does well, she will be accepted into a school of her choice for the last two years of study. In most instances, these programs represent a win-win situation for both the student and the institution. The applicant is not forced to begin her education in another campus setting and then transfer to her first-choice school two years later, effectively starting all over again. And the school grabs an applicant with promise, who it may have lost altogether after the applicant became entrenched in another campus culture. The other part of the win-win is that there is real incentive for this applicant to be the best she can be, which improves her life, and the school's culture and prestige.

More alternate admissions programs. Tulane University (LA) takes similar action in admitting students to its University College program. More exotic options are available at institutions like St. Louis University, which offers a year at its campus in Madrid; Skidmore has a first-term program in London; Cornell's Hotel School has an affiliate hotel program in Australia; New York University has its program in Florence.

Summer term/transfer admissions. A majority of public universities are admitting a cohort of qualified students on the condition they begin their studies in the summer term after their high school graduation. These schools will also guarantee admission to another cohort of candidates who successfully complete two years of study in a transfer curriculum in a community or state college. Students are encouraged to improve their academic record and readiness for college by taking prescribed transfer-oriented courses and achieving a minimum grade-point average. Cornell University, for example, sends a select few candidates a letter that guarantees them acceptance if they complete a first year of study with a 3.0 GPA at any other college or university.

DEVELOP ALTERNATIVE ACCEPTANCE SUPPORT

There are many other examples of alternative acceptance practices we could mention. While early decision, action, notification, and rolling admission plans are meant to encourage attractive candidates to consider one particular institution over others, the various acceptance plans can also lure a good to outstanding student when space limitations, enrollment control, or a student's readiness are an issue. If your institution has or is considering developing one or more of these plans, we urge you to put in place strategic support services that will ensure a smooth transition into the academic and social life of the community for alternatively accepted students. A major complaint we hear from students who opted for a deferred enrollment (for example) concerns the lack of an orientation program and inadequate academic counseling on course requirements and appropriate academic offerings. They also worry about their ability to become integrated into their classes. Overall, we find that offering a clearly delineated menu of options for the applicant--at the outset of the admissions process--together with a clearly explained choice for the admitted student at its conclusion, is received best by families. Such alternatives may help an institution enroll and retain desirable candidates, and fulfill an essential role of counseling these students to the best, well-informed choices for themselves. If handled properly, this small measure of effort can create a successful situation for all. (We cannot stress enough how important this "menu" point is, even today. When students receive an alternative acceptance that has not been properly presented as a viable and not uncommon alternative beforehand, they and their parents often feel the offer is either lip service, or a slap in the face: You're not really good enough to get in, but if you insist on trying, maybe we can let you in next year ...). Note how Middlebury's acceptance letter to candidates admitted for the second semester program addresses key concerns well:

   Congratulations! On behalf of the Admissions Committee,
   I'm delighted to offer you admission to Middlebury for our
   spring term, beginning February 5, 2003. Welcome to the
   Class of 2006. This year represents one of the most competitive
   situations for applicants that we hove ever experienced.
   A limited number of openings available for first-year students,
   coupled with u talented pool of some 5,300 applicants
   from around the world, hove made our decisions particularly
   difficult. Our February program allows us to admit
   more students than we would otherwise have space for in
   September alone. In fact, for more than 30 years we have
   matriculated up to one-fifth of the entering class at midyear.
   Traditionally, these February-admitted students have
   brought to the College community outstanding academic and
   personal characteristics and leadership qualities. We see
   these same strengths in you.

The letter of acceptance is accompanied by an information sheet, which speaks to the program's success over the years for approximately 100 students in each class, and provides a number of recommendations for positive use of the fall term.

We urge any school considering a similar plan to study Middlebury's policies and practices. With so much anxiety and competition for places in selective IHEs on the part of motivated, well-qualified students, new ways of expanding enrollment without straining institutional resources make good sense.

Howard Greene and Matthew Greene (www.greenesguide.com) are independent education consultants, and the authors of the Greenes' Guides to Educational Planning.