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School profiles are a critical tool for addressing equity in college admissions. By providing admission officers with essential context about students' high school environments, they can help level the playing field. Join us for this one-hour webinar where we will share insights from recent research on school profiles.
Read MoreInside Higher Ed took a look at key findings from our On Edge report that found young adults report twice the rates of anxiety and depression as teens.
Read MoreThe Chronicle of Higher Education’s Scott Carlson and Ned Laff make the case that meaning and purpose—not future employment—should be at the heart of the college experience.
Read MoreCollege isn’t the only path to success, and it’s important for the adults in teens’ lives—family members, teachers, coaches, and others—to acknowledge the value of diverse paths that don’t include four-year degree. Here are 20 questions to ask soon-to-be graduates that celebrate a wider range of options for life after high school.
Read MoreTraditionally, colleges look for students with good grades and test scores, but this approach might not identify those who will flourish on campus. The Thrivers Study suggests a more holistic approach.
The Thrivers Study involves a team of staff and faculty from various departments like admissions, student life, and alumni engagement. Together, they define what it means to be a thriving student at their college and identify current students who exemplify this.
By interviewing and surveying these thriving students, the college can understand what factors attracted them and helped them succeed. This might be unique academic programs, strong support systems, or a vibrant campus life.
Read MoreHow can changes to college recommendation requirements help level the playing field in college admission? Brennan Barnard weighs in in Forbes.
Read MoreCollege admissions officers face pressure to build a diverse and interesting student body, especially with evolving application trends like grade inflation and test-optional policies. Focusing on non-academic traits can be helpful, but it requires clear communication. Clearer and more engaging supplemental essay prompts can promote a more equitable admissions process and help admission offices gather the information they need to admit students who will thrive in their unique campus environment.
Read MoreThe college admissions process often relies on vague terms like "grit" and "resiliency" to assess applicants' non-cognitive traits. This lack of clear definitions can lead to miscommunication and bias among admission officers. To address this issue, colleges should develop a shared understanding of the qualities they value and how to identify them in applications. This can be achieved by defining these traits clearly, anchoring them in research, and providing examples of how they might be demonstrated. By being more explicit about what they are looking for, colleges can create a fairer and more equitable admissions process for all applicants.
Read MoreAn initiative led by Making Caring Common and Common App aims to give credit to college applicants for demanding home and family commitments, similar to how traditional extracurricular activities are considered. Read more in the Hechinger Report.
Read MoreAs educators, we can get caught up in focusing on individual goals that we forget to step back and consider a shared vision of what success looks like. In other words, what does a thriving student look like at our institution? What characteristics does a thriving student bring to the table? And how can we create the conditions to cultivate that across our learning community?
Read MoreMCC’s Trisha Ross Anderson speaks with The College Essay Guy about how Making Caring Common helps colleges figure out what they are looking for; how some colleges are working to increase access and equity in admissions; and advice to parents as they navigate this process with their students.
Read MoreNew changes to the Free Application for Student Aid (FAFSA) have resulted in widespread confusion and delays in getting colleges the information they need to award financial aid to students. We’ve got the latest.
Read MoreWhat's on the horizon in college admission this year? Forbes’ Brennan Barnard hopes it's revolutionary.
Read MoreFrom advances in AI to our pilot of a new student context inventory with Common App colleges, there were a few bright spots in an otherwise “warped” year in college admission, Brennan Barnard writes in Forbes.
Read MoreFrom delving into the complexities of parenting to forging meaningful connections across diverse fields, 2023 has been a year of profound learning and growth for us at Making Caring Common. Here are five key takeaways that have shaped our work and continue to inspire us.
Read MoreThis exercise guides young people through a series of questions about their “narrative identity”—or the stories we tell ourselves that shape our sense of who we are and what our future holds.
Read MoreIn our new report, On Edge: Understanding and Preventing Young Adults’ Mental Health Challenges, over half of young adults (58%) said they had experienced little or no purpose or meaning in their lives in the previous month. So how do those of us with young adults in our lives support them in developing a sense of meaning and purpose? We offer five data-driven suggestions in this blog post.
Read MoreThe high school profile provides college admissions officers with a high-level overview of a the school and community context from which a student is applying. Making Caring Common has collaborated with Dr. Nicola to create a series of resources that assist counselors and school leaders in improving the quality and equity of their profiles.
Read MoreBrennan Barnard reflects on MCC’s September 2023 panel on youth mental health.
Read MoreHolistic review in college admission is based on the assumption that admission officers know the context of every applicant’s high school and community. But many small or under resourced schools don’t provide the contextual information most valuable to admission officers. In this blog post, MCC’s Julius DiLorenzo outlines 14 critical, contextual components all schools should include on their profile.
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