Preserving the Senior Year of High School : New Goal of National Association for College Admission Counseling

On October 7, the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), at its annual meeting voted to bar member colleges from admitting students to college before September 15 of the students’ senior year in high school, bar institutions from setting application deadlines prior to October 15 of the senior year, and to prohibit the use of standardized test scores such as the SAT® and ACT® as the sole criterion for awarding financial aid. The membership of NACAC includes admissions deans and other admissions staff from most colleges and universities. Unfortunately, NACAC can’t order colleges to change their admission practices.

The outgoing chair of NACAC’s Admissions Practices Committee and associate director of undergraduate admissions at Boston College, Pete Caruso, indicated the policy change was made with the intent to “…preserve the senior year.” The policy change signals that NACAC recognizes that the increased pressure from colleges and universities for students to apply early can prevent students from focusing on their senior year of high school. Some colleges and universities have set application deadlines as early as May and June, before the student’s senior year or by September of the student’s senior year. The super early admissions practice, according to Caruso, was voted against by NACAC because “…students need time to study their options and work with their counselors.”

High school counselors dislike the super early admissions practice because students do not have access to the counselors over the summer. Students who apply to colleges the summer before their senior year receive no assistance in making choices about their selection of colleges and frequently commit to colleges based on promises by the college that if the student accepts an early offer of admission they will receive priority in course selection, housing and even parking. Super early admissions prevent students from looking at all their options and to get input from counselors who may be better able to help the student find the college or university that will best fit the needs and goals of the student.

NACAC made it clear that its vote against setting early application deadlines does not apply to community colleges and open admissions institutions. Community colleges and open admissions institutions have had long standing admission programs directed at students who are more likely to attend their schools. These institutions sometimes promise students, during the earlier years of high school, that they have a place for them if they graduate from high school.