College Admissions Advice: Start Early

UNIVERSITY OFFERS AUTOMATIC ADMISSION; NWACC HAS OPEN ENROLLMENT PROCESS

Last updated Sunday, March 5, 2006 9:13 PM CST in News

By Jeff Smith
The Morning News

She also said to ignore what other people say about a school and decide on your own. "Go into it with a fresh opinion and do what feels right," she said.

Don't Delay


"The longer you wait, the more tedious the work becomes," Hefner said.

The University of Arkansas gives preferences to students who register early. Students receive priority on housing assignments and can pick their class schedules first.

"The earlier you sign up for housing and orientation, the more choices you have," said Dawn Medley, admissions director.

Deadline for priority registration is Nov. 15 and the deadline for scholarship consideration is Feb. 1 before the fall semester in which the student enrolls. Scholarship money is handed out as qualified students are admitted.

"We have far more qualified students than we have money," Medley said.

Procrastinators tend to come from the local area, know they will attend the university, are first-generation college students or are older or have families, she said. Students have until Aug. 15 to apply for fall enrollment at the university.

To apply for admission to the university, a student needs a completed application, high school transcript, score from the ACT or SAT and an application fee of $40. Students who took the ACT or SAT for free or who are on free or reduced-price lunch don't have to pay the fee.

This fall, 5,674 people applied to the university for fall 2005, with a 87.5 percent acceptance rate, and the university has received 5,713 applications for fall 2006.

Automatic Admission


The University of Arkansas has an automatic admissions policy that allows students who meet certain criteria to gain acceptance without an admissions review. NorthWest Arkansas Community College has an open admissions policy allowing any student to take courses there.

A student with a 3.0 high school grade point average, a 20 or above on the ACT and who took the 16 core college unit in high school receive admission to the university automatically. This fall, 3,259 students were admitted automatically, or 76 percent of all students admitted, and 2,116 of them enrolled.

Anyone with a high school diploma or equivalent can attend NorthWest Arkansas Community College by completing an application, paying a $10 fee and taking the ACT or COMPASS, the community college-specific test.

"That's what's so great about here, you get a shot. What you make of your shot, is up to you, but you get your shot regardless," said John Honey, admissions director.

The Bentonville college offers the COMPASS test online for $10, and students can take the test anytime and get instant results.

"I think it's a better test but it's not timed. A student might have college level reading, but they don't read fast. A COMPASS test might show that the student has college-level knowledge," Honey said.

The college is revamping its orientation to include a summer on-campus component to develop better relationships with students, Honey said.

"A lot of students are now excited to come to NWACC. We're becoming more of a college of choice rather than, 'Well I don't have any where else to go,'" he said.

Scholarship deadline for the college is April 14.

Personal Review


Students who don't meet the automatic requirement at the University of Arkansas face a three-tier review process. The admissions office encourages students to submit personal letters explaining potential past problems and reference letters, said Wendy Stouffer, associate director of admissions.

"There are a lot of things that aren't visible if you just look at ACT or high school GPA and so forth," Medley said.

University officials look at students' grades to see if they are deficient in a specific area or whether they perform poorly on tests. They also see if students improve from year to year. Many students fail to recognize their ninth grade year counts on their high school transcript, Medley said.

The admissions office reviews each application and makes a recommendation to a faculty group that then makes a recommendation to a third-level administrator group. Medley said she believes the university is one of a few nationwide its size that involves the chancellor and provost in reviewing admission applications.

The administrative group can conditional admit a student, giving the student a chance to attend summer school to improve a deficient area or enroll as a non-degree seeking student. Sixty students this fall enrolled in the summer program and 94 entered as non-degree seeking.

"We provide them with different options. It's not just a cookie-cutter decision," Medley said.

Non-degree seeking students and transfer students are automatically admitted after they have 24 transferable credits with a 2.0 grade point average. Not every class offered at other campus, including the community college in Bentonville, transfer to the university.

"Ultimately, we want to know, 'Can a student be successful here? We don't want to admit people who are going to be here one or two semesters and leave," Medley said.

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