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Clearing Up Transfer Admissions Standards: Impact on Access and Outcomes

Lena Shi

Students’ college choices can affect their chances of earning a degree, but many lack the support to navigate the opaque college application and admissions process. This paper evaluates whether guaranteeing four-year college admissions based on transparent academic standards affected community college students’ enrollment choices and graduation rates. Guaranteed admissions increased high-GPA graduates’ transfer rates to highly-selective colleges by 30 percent. Increased transfers to highly-selective colleges also accompanied higher graduation rates and lower student debt. Gains were largest for students with historically lower transfer rates. Transparent admissions standards can increase access to selective colleges at low to no cost.

Keywords
college admissions; transfer; community college; college access; student outcomes; college completion; student debt
Education level
Post-secondary education
Topics
Pathways to and Through Postsecondary
Tags
College readiness
Download 09/2023
Document Object Identifier (DOI)
10.26300/6dg5-2t72
EdWorkingPaper suggested citation:
Shi, Lena. (). Clearing Up Transfer Admissions Standards: Impact on Access and Outcomes. (EdWorkingPaper: -850). Retrieved from Annenberg Institute at Brown University: https://doi.org/10.26300/6dg5-2t72

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