The Class of 2018 Forges Its Own College Path
May 31, 2018
“This class seemed to chart a different path in terms of college,” she says. Part of that is reflected in the number of colleges the class decided to attend – 54 – ten more than last year’s, plus more variety in terms of location and size.
After 22 years in college counseling, Adegbile says she is still surprised when she hears certain students’ college plans, though she doesn’t like pegging students to specific types of schools. “We don’t want them to feel like the process had control of them.” She says if students feel like they are at the discretion of what colleges want and try to become that, “as opposed to presenting their best selves, then we sort of missed the mark.” Adegbile says her job is about “empowering students to be themselves and to find colleges that are going to appreciate what they bring to the table.”
That approach may have played a role in students’ college decisions. “Our highest achieving students didn’t fixate on the most selective schools. Many of them opted for a small liberal arts college and did it early decision.” Adegbile says “that was particularly noteworthy about this class.”
It wasn’t just the students who charted a different course this year. Adegbile says that financial aid was more of a factor with this group of students. “The need for merit scholarships or package comparison was definitely an increased factor in the decisions of where students applied and where they ended up going.” Adegbile says that families in the middle income range can be expected to contribute an amount that “ends up being a real burden,” so schools with merit-based scholarships have been receiving more attention and more applications.
Adegbile also points to the transition away from an admission model and toward an enrollment management model. “There is an incentive to increase applications to lower schools’ admit rate and increase their yield.” Colleges can do this by increasing their early decision applications, where the applicant is committed to attend if they are accepted. “If you take more kids that commit to you then you get to be really selective when the vast majority apply,” says Adegbile. She also points to the use of big data to determine which students from the regular pool are more likely to enroll if admitted, thereby ensuring appropriate enrollment numbers with the fewest numbers of acceptances.
A large part of Adegbile’s job is communicating the changing landscape of college admissions to students, families, and faculty while also articulating Cate’s unique qualities to colleges. “People fixate on the ‘list’ but there is a lot that goes into where students decide to attend.”
The Cate College Counseling Office meets with students in December of their junior year for preliminary conversations. By spring break they bring in students’ families to talk possibilities, interests, thoughts, and “getting them to think beyond what they already know.” Adegbile says she wants students to “think about what the next four years will look like, what matters to them, and where do they want to see themselves.” She advises students to look at large and small schools, public and private, and rural and urban.
To the newly-enrolled college freshmen, Adegbile says, “Go with an open mind, branch out, and try something new.” She says that Cate students have had “opportunities to be taken out of their comfort zone here and they are apt to that when they go to college. It makes for a much richer college experience.” And she says, “It goes by so fast.” During Commencement on May 27, Adegbile saw some students from her first year at Cate, who are now rising juniors in college. They told her how fast it has gone by and how they can’t believe they are nearing the end of their four years. “It goes by quicker than high school,” says Adegbile. “Make sure you take full advantage and leave college with no regrets.”Click here to see the full list of colleges the Class of 2018 will be attending next year.