College Admissions: A Shift Toward Warmth

Alex Zaret, a 17-year-old senior in Saratoga Springs, New York, described the college application process as overwhelming. He is one of many students facing a system that has traditionally felt secretive and stressful. For his family, the process has become a full-time job layered on top of two full-time careers. Owen Zaret, Alex's father, noted that the dynamic has changed recently. He observed that the "ivory tower" attitude of the past, which signaled that students were lucky to be considered, has given way to a message that colleges want them there.

The shift stems from a demographic crunch. The supply of traditional-age freshmen in the United States is projected to fall by 13 percent over the next 15 years, according to the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education. Additionally, the share of high school graduates who attend college has dropped from 70 percent in 2016 to 63 percent in 2024, the most recent figure available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This decline has forced institutions to rethink their approach to filling seats.

Colleges are responding with concrete changes. Public universities in 17 states now admit high school students who have not formally applied, according to the Education Commission of the States. More than 150 private colleges make direct admission offers to students who use the Common App, a platform used by about 1,200 institutions. Some schools are also waiving application fees and offering financial incentives for campus visits. These efforts have made acceptance easier. Nearly 8 in 10 first-year applicants to public colleges and 7 in 10 to private institutions are now accepted, up from 68 percent and 65 percent respectively about a decade ago, according to the National Association for College Admission Counseling.

Despite these changes, many students still believe admission is harder than it is. A Pew Research Center survey found that more than 40 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds think it is more difficult to get into college than it was for their parents. Angel Pérez, CEO of the NACAC, attributes this misconception to the high profile of elite schools like Harvard and Stanford, which accept roughly 1 in 25 applicants. In reality, only 33 colleges in the country admit 10 percent or fewer of their applicants.

Institutions are now seeking new ways to stand out. Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs has enlisted its faculty to help recruit students. Previously, this role belonged exclusively to the admissions office. Now, professors open their labs and classrooms to prospective and admitted applicants. Jess Ricker, Skidmore's vice president for enrollment, said this creates a sense of belonging that helps distinguish the school. "It creates a feeling of what it would be like to be seen, valued and to find a place of belonging on a campus," Ricker said.

This approach is not unique to Skidmore. At Ohio Northern University, at least one faculty member meets with every visiting applicant. At Washington College in Maryland, faculty sit down with applicants on designated Fridays during the admissions season. Johnnie Johnson, the college's vice president for enrollment management, explained that some faculty initially resisted the extra work. He countered by highlighting the financial impact of enrollment. "When you put a financial figure on every student who comes in, that equates to programmatic funding. That equates to raises," Johnson said.

The need for these strategies is driven by declining yield rates. Yield, the percentage of admitted students who actually enroll, has fallen from 32 percent in 2014 to 22 percent in 2024 at public institutions. At private, nonprofit colleges, it has dropped from 24 percent to 18 percent in the same period, according to federal data. Because students now apply to an average of more than seven schools, colleges must admit roughly five times as many students as they can accommodate. They need to persuade these admitted applicants to commit by depositing fees.

At Skidmore, which has 2,719 students, more than three-quarters of admitted students who visited last year outside of open houses requested to sit in on a class or meet with a faculty member. These interactions accounted for 300 personal visits. Becca Johnson, the chair of the Psychology Department, noted that the personal touch resonates. One mother told her that being contacted by a faculty member was the first non-admissions interaction her student had experienced, and it proved meaningful in their decision-making process.