Moderator: Frank D. Sachs Director of College CounselingThe Blake School

Participants:Mark J. Hatch VP for EnrollmentColorado CollegeKirk Brennan Director of AdmissionsU.S.C.Mark Spencer Director of College AdvisingDeerfield Academy

Questions for each participant to answer:

Share the history of your program.Why do you do it? What are the advantages to your school, to the student?What are the disadvantages to your school, to the student?Please share some statistics. How many offers do you make? How many accepts? How many participate?

Do you do anything special for the Midyears?What options do they have during the first semester? Are they on their own or do you provide them with information about those options?Do you ever admit any of the Midyears for the fall semester? Why or why not?What feedback do you get from the students who participate in the Midyear program?Do you have one piece of advice to share with others who are considering a Midyear program?Questions for each participant toanswer:

October 2013College Board Forum

Approximately 8-10% of each class (45-50 students)

Prior to 1998 it was a Summer Start Program with 80-100 students. June start for three Summer Blocks followed by the fall off.

Moved to Winter/January start in 1998 due to concerns with June 15th Block A start date.

Historically study abroad at CC has been 1/3 fall, 2/3 spring

Some students request a GAP semester at the time of application

Alumni often ask if this is an option for their children

Some College Counselors are proactive in working with students and families

A few are surprised and shocked when offered a place but for January

What do they do in the fall?Work and travelInternshipsNOLSWhere There Be DragonsStudy at a (local) college as a non-degree studentSpend time with familyOther

Why is this important to us and the educational process?Getting off the treadmillReflectionLife experienceGetting ready for collegeMaturityOwnership and authorship

SPRING ADMISSION AT USC Kirk Brennan, Director of Admission

Steven B. SamplePaul RigaliJoe AllenOnce upon a time

HISTORY

Conceived in 1998, implemented in 1999Renewed focus on UndergraduatesResponse to USC transitioning to selectiveStudent-centered solution to challenge of enrolling a specific numberWe have room in springBased in thinking that wait lists are not the best for students.

PROCESS

April 1AdmissionMay 1Spring Enrollment ResponseMay ~15Movement from spring to fall if anyJuly 1Apply for housingAugust 1Commitment deposit dueDecember ~10Mid-Year OrientationJanuary ~10Start of school

Chart1

995968628

11641318584

1344448523

9914748714

1345319364

ADMISSION OFFERS

Stayed spring

Spring to Fall

Fall

Sheet1

DATA

20092010201120122013

FALL ADMITS87248715856791889395

NON-SPRING FALL86288584852387149364

WITH SPRAD961314447431

Stayed S-admits995116413449911345

DEPOSITED315410531314564

Enrolled in spring282354472285?

Sheet1

200920092009

201020102010

201120112011

201220122012

201320132013

ADMISSION OFFERS

Stayed spring

Spring to Fall

Fall

Sheet2

Sheet3

Chart1

282336800.2834170854

354567540.3041237113

472598130.3511904762

285296770.2875882947

5642013781

SPRING OFFERS

Enrolled in spring

Melted

Declined

Yield

data

DATA

20092010201120122013

FALL ADMITS87248715856791889395

NON-SPRING FALL86288584852387149364

WITH SPRAD961314447431

Stayed S-admits995116413449911345

Declined680754813677781

DEPOSITED315410531314564

Melted33565929

Enrolled in spring282354472285564

Yield28.3%30.4%35.1%28.8%

Melt rate10.5%13.7%11.1%9.2%

data

SPRING OFFERS

Enrolled in spring

Melted

Declined

Yield

offers

offers

995968628

11641318584

1344448523

9914748714

1345319364

ADMISSION OFFERS

Stayed spring

Spring to Fall

Fall

yield

ADVANTAGES

Can allow for precision in shaping classIts an answer. Students can make plansEliminated the spring review cycle of October/NovemberWe can say yes to more students

CHALLENGES[How much time do I have?]

WHEN YOU GOT INTO SCDear [John Doe], Congratulations! You are among a select group of students who have been admitted to USC"See: http://fightonsprings.tumblr.com

..for the spring semesterSee: http://fightonsprings.tumblr.com

CHALLENGES

ConfusionBig envelopeFeeling of second-class Post-admit conversation is much different, urgentFall is depressing for the studentSome tempted to double deposit

EnrollmentMelt is higher, variesSome academic programs cant support itNew tuition stream becomes a new targetMoving spring admits to fall can be seen as failureDraws out pressures/appealsExtensive work with campus stakeholdersSize of pool likely smaller than wait-list pool

CHALLENGES[Do I still have time?]

Student lifeFall means football season, rushTransition seen as more difficultHousing is difficult to manageStudents will engage during fall

What to do in the fallStudents dont want to (or cant) enroll in community collegeArticulation pre-approvals

ONE PIECE OF ADVICE

Think it through:Gather buy-in from campus stakeholdersHold the students hand from May to JanuaryGuard value of wait-pool

Mark Spencer

Currently: Director of College AdvisingDeerfield AcademyFormally:Dean of AdmissionBrandeis University

Mid-Year ProgramAdvantagesBalance and Pace of life supportedStudents asked to think differently about admissionPursue a productive and fulfilling experienceStudy Abroad and DomesticMore admits in class (400 at Brandeis)Graduate in seven semesters

DisadvantagesNo aid for abroad programsPre-med students and core classes off trackInitial negative and/or confused perception

Mid-Year ProgramWhat do in First Semester?AnythingStudy Abroad (England, China, France, Spain)Washington DC semesterTrain for a sportDo community service projectWork as an EMTTake classes locallyTry something new

Mid-Year ProgramStarted @ 2005 to fill empty beds from study away students.Thought we would get 50 in year 1, got 100Have admitted @400 to get 100 since

Admissions Volume Total - Mid Year

Year Entering20092010201120122013

Admits436424407427413Deposits8712411797107Yield20.0%29.2%28.7%22.7%25.9%

Mid-Year ProgramTransitioning to CampusFull week long Orientation programConstant communication before January entranceGroup bonding (100-member family)Understanding course sequencing ahead of timeHousing - together in nicer residences

OtherMust enter in Spring, even if defer

Mid-Year ProgramOther, including hidden, benefitsCharacter check - Students who elect to do mid-year show gritMid-year students quickly assume leadership positionsAdmission officers make purer decisions, move beyond pressure for SAT and GPA numbers for US News rankingFrom the other side of the deskAnother opportunity for admissionAnother opportunity for growthFavors the wealthier, so counselor needs to be creative with aid candidates and semester less tuition

Q & A

But first some comments from Frank

*The year was 1998

Starts with Steven Sample, our 10th president, who took the bold risk that we should shrink the size of the incoming class. This is chronicled in his book, Contrarians Guide to Leadership, and it scared us. We were being asked to fundamentally change our way of thinking; to cap the class, not maximize the class.

His book:http://www.amazon.com/Contrarians-Guide-Leadership-Steven-Sample/dp/0787967076

So I and my colleagues figured we had to do a waiting list, because thats how schools manage to a number. We started engineering a wait-list workflow.

Thats where Paul Rigali comes in. Paul the son of a coworker of mine. Hes currently an attorney is Los Angeles, but at the time he was a senior at Loyola High School. Paul was a great student, 4.0 gpa, he ran cross country, and hes a great guy. He wanted to study international relations, we have a great program at USC, but he also wanted to attend Georgetown. But he made Georgetowns waiting list, and he hated that. He committed to attend USC on April 29th, he held out hope for much of the summer, he couldnt get excited about his choice.

So then comes Joe Allen. Im sure I dont need to introduce many of you to Joe, but he was our dean from 1993 to 2001. Trustee of the Board, Dean of Admission at UC Santa Cruz, foudning father of the famous Summer Institute.

Joe Allen was a crucial force behind USCs spectacular climb to the upper tier of American re search universities over the past 10 years, said Provost Lloyd Armstrong Jr. But he will be missed most because of the warm, positive individual he was. It was these character traits and his keen sense of what works best that made him so successful.

In 1998, as documented in the 2001 Atlantic article The Early decision Racket he famously called for a moratorium on Early Decision, as student-centered a decision as one might imagine. He wanted to give students more time, and to providing access to students from a broader range of socioeconomic backgrounds.http://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/issues/2001/09/fallows.htm

We pitched to Joe the idea of doing a wait list. He said no, wait lists are terrible for kids, just look at Paul. Thats not USC. Why dont we admit students to spring instead, and if during the summer we have openings in the fall, we will move it.

*So this was me. We were a little stunned, we had to go back to the drawing board, and to this day you can even see the early system flags for spring admit use the term WAIT, since that was the initial idea.**Oh I need to get some numbers*Its true. We send the news in a big envelope, then they open it.*I dont know how to deliver this news in a way that isnt difficult to process. Should I print good news/bad news on the outside? This isnt as good as you think?*Buy in:Making sure campus stakeholders are on board. Continuum of post-admit services

Its easy to forget about the admitted students when you begin planning to hit the road for the next year. Theyll need a little hand-holding after they commit, especially as they watch their facebook friends move in, post pictures of football games, first dance, etc. **