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Shopping for the Best Offer: Some Students in US Apply to Dozens of Colleges

FILE - High school seniors listen to their college-preparation teacher, right, as she leads a discussion about how to adjust to the academic, financial and social pressures of collegiate life, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Jan. 18, 2018.
FILE - High school seniors listen to their college-preparation teacher, right, as she leads a discussion about how to adjust to the academic, financial and social pressures of collegiate life, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Jan. 18, 2018.

Some high school students are taking a new approach to college admissions by applying to dozens of schools at a time to shop among offers.

Kayla Willis of Westlake High School in Atlanta was accepted to 31 out of the 44 colleges and universities she applied to, receiving more than $1 million in scholarship offers.

After some prompting by her father, Willis tweeted her school portrait with a display of logos of the schools that offered her admission. The tweet was "liked" more than 150,000 times.

Jordan Nixon of Douglasville, Georgia was accepted to 39 schools and raked in $1.6 million in scholarship offers. Although she hasn’t selected a school, Nixon said she knows she wants to study international business, according to local news reports.

Michael Love of Detroit was accepted to 41 schools. Dylan Chidick, whose family has been in and out of homelessness since moving to New Jersey from Trinidad, now has to pick from among the 17 colleges that offered him a spot.

These students and others are still outliers in the practice of applying to numerous colleges, but they may be part of a growing trend.

In 2016, 35 percent of first-time candidates applied to seven or more schools, compared with just 17 percent who applied in 2005 to that many institutions, according to the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC).

Money a big factor

One reason for the increasing number of applications is the cost of education, and the need to shop for the best financial offer.

“This is tied to the growing cost of college, the need to shop for financial aid awards and merit scholarships, larger economic uncertainties,” said Nicholas Soodik, associate director of the college office at Pingree School in South Hamilton, Massachusetts. “There are real reasons why kids are applying to more schools. It’s not just the hunt for the most prestigious college.”

Soodik noted that his high school seniors at Pingree applied to an average of six colleges and universities this year.

FILE - A senior at Roosevelt High School in Washington, D.C., fills out a college application.
FILE - A senior at Roosevelt High School in Washington, D.C., fills out a college application.

Debbie Prochnow, the college career information coordinator at Blake High School in Maryland, also said members of her class of 2019 applied on average to about six schools each.

“We recommend that kids apply to six to eight and apply to a variety of schools based on selectivity, and include public colleges in Maryland for financial safeties,” Prochnow said, adding that the number is “about the same” as last year’s.

Prochnow said that although a few of her students applied to 15 colleges, “That is not the norm.”

Soodik noted that, at least at his private school, the growth in the average number of applications fell mostly in the early action and early decision programs. Those are applications submitted to colleges in the fall for students who want a reply in December or January, rather than the typical April acceptances or rejections.

Kayla Willis says she will attend Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, after receiving a full scholarship.

College admissions advisers and students note that application fees to college are not cheap. While the average is $50 per submission, fees can go up to $200, according to U.S. News and World Report.

Willis noted she was diligent in applying for application fee waivers, something that many high school students may not know is available.

“I did not spend a dime on anything! My application fees were waived, no transcript or SAT fees!” she tweeted.

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Greek Parliament Approves Branches of Foreign Universities   

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is applauded by members of his government during ahead of a vote on a bill which allows foreign private universities to set up branches in Greece, at the Greek parliament in Athens, March 8, 2024.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is applauded by members of his government during ahead of a vote on a bill which allows foreign private universities to set up branches in Greece, at the Greek parliament in Athens, March 8, 2024.

The Greek parliament voted to allow foreign universities to establish and operate branch campuses in the country.

According to U.S. News & World Report, the move was made to encourage Greek students to stay in the country for advanced studies, instead of going abroad for an education. (March 2024)

Virginia Bans Legacy Admissions

FILE - In this April 28, 2016, photo, students walk by the James Branch Cabell Library on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Va.
FILE - In this April 28, 2016, photo, students walk by the James Branch Cabell Library on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Va.

The state of Virginia has banned legacy admissions to public colleges and universities.

The New York Times reports the state has outlawed the practice of giving preferential admissions status to students based on connections to alumni and donors. (March 2024)

New Texas Law Prohibits Public Colleges, Universities From Having DEI Offices

New Texas Law Prohibits Public Colleges, Universities From Having DEI Offices
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A new Texas law prohibits public universities from having special programs supporting minority and LGBTQ students. Critics say these diversity, equity and inclusion programs are discriminatory and divisive. But many students say they are needed. Deana Mitchell has the story from the Texas capital.

Here’s What It Feels Like to Find Home Between Two Cultures

FILE - The University of Virginia, in Charlottesville, Va.
FILE - The University of Virginia, in Charlottesville, Va.

Cynthia Jia, a student at the University of Virginia, writes about how Chinese literature helped reconcile her to being part of two cultures. Read her story in The Cavalier Daily. (February 2024)

FAFSA Delays Prompt California to Extend Deadline for Financial Aid Applications

FILE - The UCLA campus on April 25, 2019. On March 21, 2024, the California Legislature voted to extend the deadline for some state student financial aid programs in response to delays with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA.
FILE - The UCLA campus on April 25, 2019. On March 21, 2024, the California Legislature voted to extend the deadline for some state student financial aid programs in response to delays with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA.

The California Legislature on Thursday voted to give prospective college students more time to apply for two of the state's largest financial aid programs after a glitch in the federal government's application system threatened to block up to 100,000 people from getting help.

California had already extended the deadline for its financial aid programs from March 2 to April 2. On Thursday, the state Senate gave final approval to a bill that would extend it again until May 2. The bill now heads to Governor Gavin Newsom.

"Clearly, our students need our help," Assemblymember Sabrina Cervantes, a Democrat from Riverside who authored the bill, told lawmakers during a public hearing earlier this week.

California has multiple programs to help people pay for college. The biggest is the Cal Grant program, which gives money to people who meet certain income requirements. The state also has a Middle Class Scholarship for people with slightly higher incomes.

Students can apply for these state aid programs only if they first complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly known as FAFSA.

This year, a computer glitch prevented parents from filling out the form if they did not have a Social Security number. That meant many students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents but whose parents are not were blocked from completing the form and thus could not apply for California's aid programs.

California has a large population of adults who are living in the country without legal permission. The California Student Aid Commission, the state agency in charge of California's financial aid programs, estimates as many as 100,000 students could be affected by this glitch.

The U.S. Department of Education says it fixed the problem last week, but those families are now a step behind. Democrats in Congress raised alarms last month, noting that the delay could particularly hurt students in states where financial aid is awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, including Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, Oregon and Texas.

Advocates fear that the chaos of this year's process could deter students from going to college at all, especially those for whom finances are a key part of the decision.

The computer glitch is just one part of larger problems affecting FAFSA.

The notoriously time-consuming form was overhauled in 2020 through a bipartisan bill in Congress. It promised to simplify the form, going from 100 questions to fewer than 40, and it also changed the underlying formula for student aid, promising to expand it to more low-income students.

But the update has been marred by delays, leaving families across the country in limbo as they figure out how much college will cost.

The form is typically available to fill out in October, but the Education Department didn't have it ready until late December. Even then, the agency wasn't ready to begin processing the forms and sending them to states and colleges, which only started to happen this month.

The problems appear to have already reduced California's application numbers. Through March 8, the number of California students who had completed FAFSA was 43% lower than it was at the same time last year.

"The data most concerning me seems to suggest that these drops are more acute at the schools that serve low-income students or large populations of students of color," Jake Brymner, deputy chief of policy and public affairs for the California Student Aid Commission, told lawmakers in a public hearing earlier this week.

The issue has caused problems for colleges and universities, too. The University of California and California State University systems both delayed their admissions deadlines because so many prospective students were having trouble with FAFSA.

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