Go Figure? How Admission Decisions are Made in the USG High School Counselor Workshop April 20, 2016 Cheryl Matson Kennesaw State University Director of Operations Admission’s Data Management

ADMISSION’S FACTORS – NATIONWIDE, WHAT DO COLLEGES THINK IS IMPORTANT? ​ Factor​Considerable importance ​Moderate Importance ​Limited Importance ​No importance Grades in college prep courses​ ​84.3%​11.9%​2.3%​1.5% Strength of curriculum​​67.7​20.4​5.8​6.2 ​Admission test scores (SAT, ACT). ​59.2​29.6​6.9​4.2 ​Grades in all courses​ ​1.9 ​Essay or writing sample​24.9​37.5​17.2​20.3 ​Student's demonstrated interest ​ ​24.7​25.1 ​Counselor recommendation​ ​27.2​13.8 ​Class Rank​18.8​31.0​31.4​18.8 ​Teacher recommendation​16.5​ ​15.0 ​Subject test scores (AP, IB)​6.9​31.2​31.5​30.4 ​Portfolio​6.6​12.8​30.2​50.4 ​Interview6.2​25.4​25.8​42.7 SAT II scores​5.4​9.7​22.6​62.3 Extracurricular activities ​​5.0​ ​13.8 ​State graduation exam​4.2​14.9​23.8​57.1 ​Work NACAC Admission Trends Survey 2011 ​ ​43.2​37.5 SOURCE: NACAC Admission Trends Survey, 2011

ADDITIONAL FACTORS SOME COLLEGES PAY MORE ATTENTION TO SOME FACTORS THAN OTHERS Small colleges – Have a more “holistic” application process, paying more attention to a number of factors (essay, letters of recommendation, etc.) Large college – Have a more “mechanical” application process (more emphasis or only emphasis on HSGPA and test scores). In the case of open-ended, or near open-ended colleges, that might be the extent of it. NACAC –Factors in the Admission Decision, 2016

ADDITIONAL FACTORS SOME COLLEGES PAY MORE ATTENTION TO SOME FACTORS THAN OTHERS (cont’d) Large colleges (cont’d) - More selective large colleges may follow the initial qualification process with a more holistic review Selective colleges – (in this case, is defined as colleges accepting less than half of their applicants) These colleges will have a more “holistic” application review process. NACAC –Factors in the Admission Decision, 2016

WHAT DOES UNIVERSITY SYSTEM OF GEORGIA (USG) BOARD OF REGENTS (BOR) SAY? Required High School Curricula (RHSC), (previously CPC- College Preparatory Curricula) For students who graduated in 2012 or later, completion of seventeen (17) specified units. They are: Mathematics – 4 units, with one course being higher than Algebra II, or Math 3 or higher; English – 4 units, emphasis on grammar and usage; literature (American, English, World), and advanced composition skills; Science – 4 units, with at least: 1 unit of biology, 1 unit of physical science or physics, 1 unit of chemistry, earth systems, environmental science, or an advanced placement science course. Social Science – 3 units, 1 unit focusing on United States studies and 1 unit focusing on World Studies. Foreign Language – 2 units in the same foreign language, or 2 units of American Sign Language, or two units of approved Computer Science courses USG BoR Policy Manual

ABOUT THAT REQUIRED HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULA USG has a guide, “Staying on Course” We highly recommend “Bookmarking” this instead of printing it out. There was a change as recently as April 4, indicating that College Readiness Mathematics (27.089) has been approved to count as a 4 th math. Speaking of this, there is a list of sample math sequences: There is an FAQ section There is an embedded link in the Staying on Course document that also lists courses NOT APPROVED.

WHAT DOES UNIVERSITY SYSTEM OF GEORGIA (USG) BOARD OF REGENTS (BOR) SAY? (cont’d) Freshman Index (FI) A designated score on the Freshman Index which is based on a combination of SAT or ACT assessment scores and high school grade point average (HSGPA). The Freshman Index formula is: 1. FI = 500 x (HSGPA) + SAT Verbal/Critical Reading + SAT Math (or) 2. FI = 500 x (HSGPA) + (ACT Composite x 42) +88 In addition, to the FI, students must have a minimum SAT Verbal score of 430 and Mathematics score of 400 (or ACT equivalent) for admission to a university (research, regional or state). USG BoR Policy Manual

WHAT DOES UNIVERSITY SYSTEM OF GEORGIA (USG) BOARD OF REGENTS (BOR) SAY? (cont’d) The minimum FI required for admission to a: 1. Research university – Regional university – State university – 1940, and 4. State or two-year college is 1830 Institutions may set higher requirements for admission. Students meeting the minimum FI requirements are not guaranteed admission. USG BoR Policy Manual

SOME USG INSTITUTIONS EnrollmentFall 2013Fall 2014Fall 2015 University of Georgia* 34,53635,19736,130 Georgia State Univ.*32,16532,55632,058 Kennesaw State Univ.**31,17832,50033,252 Georgia Inst. of Tech* 21,47123,10825,034 *Research University **Comprehensive University USG by the Numbers (USG123),

METHODOLOGIES FOR ADMISSIONS’ DECISIONS – NOT A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW University of Georgia: according to NACAC definition, would be “large, selective” institution Initial qualification followed by a more holistic review UGA has a “fixed seat” model, only accepting a predetermined number freshmen, and will defer applicants after that number. For the 2016 year, UGA indicates they had approximately 23,000 applicants, and admitted approximately 12, April 12, 2016

METHODOLOGIES FOR ADMISSIONS’ DECISIONS – NOT A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW (cont’d) University of Georgia, cont’d “…When trying to comprehend your decision, please understand that our office is looking at your file individually, then in comparison with the rest of the 23,000 applicants. That is a very large, very strong applicant pool, and we are limited in how many students we can admit and enroll...” “…Please remember this is not the GPA students see on their high school transcript, but rather the GPA that UGA recalculates for everyone based on the core academic courses taken in high school and looking at the actual grades posted on the transcripts…” April 12, 2016

METHODOLOGIES FOR ADMISSIONS’ DECISIONS – NOT A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW (cont’d) Georgia State University : according to NACAC definition, would be a hybrid, admitting on merit as well as holistic review Admission decision is based primarily on Freshman Index (FI) of 2500, which is the minimum for Research Institutions. Not a “fixed seat model.” Process until deadlines are met. “…Students are reviewed mainly on their academic profiles, however, they can submit an essay and letter of recommendation if they want to be reviewed holistically…” requirements/

METHODOLOGIES FOR ADMISSIONS’ DECISIONS – NOT A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW (CONT’D) Georgia Inst. of Technology: according to NACAC definition, would be a large, selective college Initial qualification followed by a more holistic review GA Tech has a “fixed seat” model, only accepting a predetermined number freshmen, and will defer applicants after that number.

METHODOLOGIES FOR ADMISSIONS’ DECISIONS – NOT A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW Georgia Inst. Of Technology, cont’d For the 2015 year, 27,270 total applicants, approx. 5,000 admitted. Factors for Freshman Admission: Academic Performance; Course Selection (RHSC); Standardized Test Scores; Extracurricular involvement; Personal Essay; School Report; Recommendations; SAT Subject Tests; TOEFL/IELTS Exam Scores; AP/IB scores Freshman class size for 2016 is “The Admission Experience”

METHODOLOGIES FOR ADMISSIONS’ DECISIONS – NOT A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW Kennesaw State University: according to NACAC definition, would be “large” institution that has “Rolling Admission” Process by rolling admission, whatever comes in, is processed until deadline is met Admission is based on HSGPA, RHSC’s as defined by BoR, and test scores Effective September 2015, Kennesaw State University began to use course GPA as indicated on transcript. We convert to a 4.0 scale, without adding or subtracting weight.

KENNESAW STATE UNIVERSITY PROCESSING

KENNESAW STATE UNIVERSITY PROCESSING (cont’d) Percentage of Freshmen that applied who were accepted: Fall ’14 – 59.4% Fall ’15 – 58.5% Freshman Yield (excluding Non-traditional applicants) Fall ‘14 – 48% Fall ‘15 – 49.9%

CALCULATING HSGPA Based on institution’s mission – Research, Comprehensive, State Universities, etc., and whether holistic review is used Some give weight to AP/IB only, but do not give weight to Honor’s courses Some add weight in for both AP/IB AND Honors Others do not add weight to or subtract weight from high school transcripts. For example: “…Grades as listed on your official high school transcript will be used; Georgia Southern does not add or remove weight for accelerated courses…”

CALCULATING HSGPA (cont’d) Typically, there are three possible HSGPA’s: 1.High School Transcript GPA, usually the highest, since it takes into account ALL coursework, including PE/Health, Fine Arts, and Career & Tech Ed. 2.Georgia Student Finance Committee (HOPE) GPA. Can be lower. Will include ALL academic work. For example, if a student took four years of foreign language, got “B’s” in the 9 th and 10 th year, a “C’s”in the 11 th year, and failed in the 12 th year. All of those grades would count. 3.KSU would typically place in the middle, since we only count the courses that apply to the 17 RHSC units, but we would not count the “C” and “F” grades as indicated in the #2 scenario. The applicant had gone above and beyond what was “required.”

KENNESAW STATE UNIVERSITY – Admissions Review As an institution that does not have a “limited admission,” or a “fixed seat” model; KSU does not do holistic review. KSU follows the BoR guideline of not adding weight to particular courses when reporting HSGPA to the BoR. BoR does allow other methods of HSGPA calculation for determining admission eligibility. KSU encourages AP, IB and Dual Enrollment in high school as means of earning college credit.

KENNESAW STATE UNIVERSITY ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS 2.5 GPA in 17 units of required high school coursework as recalculated by Kennesaw State, AND 950 SAT (Critical Reading and Math scores combined) * AND SAT Critical Reading score of 450 AND SAT Math score of 450 -or- ACT Composite score of 20 AND ACT English subscore of 18 AND ACT Math subscore of 18

WE ARE ALWAYS HAPPY TO ASSIST If you have questions about individual student’s HSGPA or RHSC requirements, you may always call your Kennesaw State University Admission’s Counselor OR You may call or contact me at: Cheryl Matson, Director of Operations at KSU (470) (please do not give directly to students)

Thank you!