retention rate

retention rate is typically calculated as the percentage of freshman who return for their sophomore year at a school. this is kind of a proxy for student happiness and whether students are finding their school to be a good fit for them. it also indicates that the school is doing a good job of supporting enrolled students. a strong retention rate is well into the 90%s.

graduation rate

graduation rate is another important statistic (it is often calculated in four year and six year time-spans). a strong graduation rate means that students are succeeding in the classroom and are being well advised along the way. one of the big drivers of student loan debt is that kids are not graduating on time, so schools with high graduation rates are also helping their students save money. a strong graduation rate for four years is typically in the 80%s and above.

net price

the cost of college is not a single, sticker price necessarily. sure, there are some families who will pay full freight, but many other will receive need-based financial aid. the net price is the cost of college when this need-based financial aid is taken into account. there is a great tool called the net price calculator that provides an accurate estimate of a potential need-based financial aid package for each individual family. every school has a net price on their website (it is often on the financial aid page).

% of graduates employed and average salary

as the cost of college continues to rise, students have been paying more and more attention to post-college outcomes. after all, how can you pay off potential student loan debt if you don’t have a job? finding information on employment and salaries can be difficult. schools will publish statistics, but it is important to know whether the employment is full-time and whether it required a college degree. don’t be afraid to clarify and dig deeper. it is also worth asking about what the career and professional development process is like (how does the school help students find internships and jobs? does the school provide stipends so students can gain experience through unpaid internships?). regarding salary information, the department of education put together the college scorecard (which also contains stats for graduation rate and retention rate). remember that this is just the average salary for all students and does not take into account major or career.

student to faculty ratio

relationships with professors are an integral part of the college experience. the student to faculty ratio stat is a good proxy for the amount of faculty attention you will receive. this will vary from school to school, but a smaller student to faculty ratio is typically around or under 10.

the post 5 metrics that matter appeared first on magoosh blog | high school.

the coalition for access, affordability, and success is a brand new college application and is causing a lot of buzz among students, parents, and guidance counselors. per the coalition’s website, this new application was “developed to improve the college application process for all students as they search for and apply to their perfect college. the platform provides a single, centralized toolkit for students to organize, build, and refine their applications to numerous institutions.”

one of the big reasons that the coalition application has emerged as an alternative application is that the common application has had its share of issues and colleges don’t want to put their eggs in one basket. so now, we have the coalition application, which promises a better solution (especially for students from disadvantaged backgrounds).

the coalition application offers a few unique and interesting things for students:

1. all of the member schools are institutions that meet full demonstrated financial need for all domestic admitted students and graduate over 70% of their students within six years.
2. the coalition “locker” which allows students to upload research papers, art supplements, videos, and other materials to their application.
3. guidance counselors and mentors will be able to give you feedback within the application.

this sounds interesting, but what does it mean for me?

for the near future, the coalition will not create any radical shifts in undergraduate admissions. it will be a solid alternative to the common application, but many schools are not even accepting the coalition until the 2017-2018 admissions cycle.

the consensus among admissions deans is that there will be no “advantage” for students applying with the coalition as opposed to the common application or other applications. because the coalition is so new, i would recommend that students who are rising seniors forgo the coalition and stick to the common application for the upcoming year. as with any new technology, there is no telling how smooth the rollout of the coalition will be and it is a safer move to stick with the common app, which the colleges know best.

for students who are rising sophomore or juniors, it may be worthwhile to create an account and see what the coalition is like. as it is so new, there is still much that guidance counselors have to learn about the coalition, so stay tuned!
 

magoosh users can save $50 off their first month of prephound college counseling with the discount code magoosh!

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