New State of College Admission report offers interactive source for admission trend data

To provide access to information sooner, the report’s sections will be released in phases. The first release focuses on selectivity rates.

Known as the central source of college admission trend data, the State of College Admission report from NACAC has been redesigned as an online interactive tool that will be updated throughout the year. The new format offers professionals practical tools to use when relying on the data for informed decision making.

With the new design, the report’s sections will be released in phases. This allows parts of the report to be available sooner instead of waiting to release a compilation when data for all sections has been collected.

The first section – application and selectivity rates – is available now. The data show that in fall 2021, four-year, not-for-profit colleges accepted 73 percent of applications from first-year students, on average. The average acceptance rate was higher for public colleges (78 percent) compared to private colleges (70 percent).

This release includes an interactive map where NACAC members can filter data according to institution and/or acceptance rate. Presentation slides and a fact sheet are also available for members.

“We reimagined this report and sought to create a tool our members could easily use to set expectations at their institutions, manage their teams, and make data-informed decisions,” said Melissa Clinedinst, director of research and grants. “Trend data supports the admission profession in so many ways, and we wanted to make this information easier to use and apply.”

Future sections will include factors in admission decisions, recruitment strategies, early decision and early action, and school counseling—as well as emerging topics relevant to the field of college admission and counseling.

As a dynamic member-only resource, this further enriches the NACAC membership experience with data-driven insights to empower college admission counseling professionals and enhance their work.

Summary data are available to the public. The full resource is available as a NACAC member benefit. A NACAC member login is required to access the full resource.