Expanding Opportunities: A College Choice Report for the Graduating Class of 2014

Expanding OpportunitiesA College Choice Report for the Graduating Class of 2014Part 2: Enrollment Patterns ACT is an independent, nonprofit organization that provides assessment, research, information, and program management services in the broad areas of education and workforce development. Each year, we serve millions of people in high schools, colleges, professional associations, businesses, and government agencies, nationally and internationally. Though designed to meet a wide array of needs, all ACT programs and services have one guiding purpose—helping people achieve education and workplace success.A copy of this report can be found at www.act.org/collegechoiceThe College Choice Report is an annual report series that follows an ACT-tested high school graduating class from high school through the second year of college. It focuses on an alternating set of student characteristics, preferences, and college search behaviors to assist enrollment managers, admissions personnel, and other college administrators with student recruitment, enrollment, and persistence. This College Choice Report is part of a report cycle that focuses on a particular ACT-tested high school graduating class. Other reports in this cycle are The Condition of College & Career Readiness, which highlights the academic readiness of high school graduates to enter college or career training, and The Reality of College Readiness, which highlights the relationships among readiness, college enrollment, and retention. © 2015 by ACT, Inc. All rights reserved. The ACT® test is a registered trademark of ACT, Inc., in the USA and other countries. 3945 3College Choice Report: Expanding OpportunitiesACT-Tested Class of 2014This College Choice Report series follows the ACT-tested high school graduating class of 2014, focusing on specific testing behaviors that may expand college opportunities available to students. This is an important topic for enrollment managers and admissions officers to consider, as students’ participation in these testing behaviors have implications for colleges’ chances to recruit, advise, and place these prospective students. Part 1 of this series, Preferences and Prospects (released October 2014), provides both 10-year trends and a profile of the current high school graduating class regarding testing behaviors such as the high school grade level in which students first took the ACT® test, the rate at which students elected to send score reports to colleges at the time of ACT registration, and the rate at which students opted into the ACT Educational Opportunity Service (EOS). Part 2 of this series, Enrollment Patterns (released July 2015), focuses on the college enrollment of these ACT-tested high school graduates and examines some of the potential downstream effects of such student testing behaviors as time of first testing, participation in EOS, and score-sending behavior.Key Findings from Part 1• More high school students than ever before take the ACT. • Students are taking the ACT earlier in high school. • More students withhold their test scores during ACT registration. • Additional score reports are rising, and most are sent by withholders. • More students take advantage of the ACT Educational Opportunity Service. Key Findings from Part 2• The college enrollment rate of ACT-tested students remains stable despite significant growth in the number of ACT-tested students.• Opting out of EOS could result in a loss of opportunity.• Testing later in high school could result in a loss of opportunity.• Withholding scores at ACT registration and using additional score reports does not appear to secure any advantage for students in admissions decisions.For more detailed information about these key findings and the opportunity to view the report interactively by particular geographic regions (nation, region, state) and by student background characteristics (e.g., ACT scores, parents’ education level, race/ethnicity), go to www.act.org/collegechoice.How to Use This ReportMore than half (57%) of the graduating class of 2014 took the ACT during high school. Whether you are searching for prospective students locally or in other parts of the country, a better understanding of the preferences and college choice behaviors of ACT-tested students can improve your marketing and recruitment strategies. The information presented in this report (and in the accompanying online charts and maps) can provide insights and inform discussions on your campus about the desired characteristics and locations of prospective students and your strategies for recruiting them. For colleges that participate in EOS, this information can help you to establish or refine your selection criteria to create more efficient student searches. Over time, the report can also help you gauge the effectiveness of your search, marketing, and recruitment strategies.SourcesThis report is based on the ACT-tested high school graduating class of 2014. Student information