NCAN recently released a K-12 college and career readiness calendar filled with recommendations and tools spread throughout a 15-month period.
The calendar details helpful college and career readiness activities and resources.
April is a busy month on the calendar. NCAN has listed a few crucial data outcomes along with postsecondary advising tips that should be shared with graduating high school students.
Here are the resources you should expect to learn after reading our April calendar!
NSC Spring Enrollment Data
The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center (NSCRC) recently released updated enrollment data about last year’s high school graduating class of 2020. The updated data estimate
a 6.8% decline in graduating seniors’ immediate college enrollment. This is a downward revision from December’s 22% estimate.
The updated statistics are promising compared to the catastrophic earlier estimate, although these numbers did detail the large college enrollment inequities faced by students of color and students from low-income backgrounds. These inequities have been
persistent since the COVID-19 pandemic begun.
The valuable insights about students’ postsecondary outcomes are also available to programs and schools that sign up for the NSC’s StudentTracker service. The relatively affordable service
starts at $595 per year and allows for programs and schools to search for the students they serve, while also gathering data about those students’ postsecondary outcomes. The StudentTracker data are the most comprehensive source of postsecondary education
outcomes, and NCAN strongly encourages programs to sign up for the service.
Incidentally, NCAN suggests analyzing students’ spring enrollment data in April. Those data usually arrive sometime in mid-to-late March from postsecondary institutions across the country.
Want to learn more about the NSCRC and its data? Consult the links below.
Assisting graduating seniors with their financial aid offers should be one of April’s main focal points.
Admitted students may already have their financial aid letter(s) – also referred to as award letters. Be sure that your student is aware of the different kinds of funding options being offered by their institutions. Ensuring that your student is
able to distinguish between a loan and a grant is crucial to understand how much money your student might have to pay back in the future. Counsel your students to ensure that they’re making the best decision financially and academically for their
future endeavors.
Be sure to check out these helpful links for more information on collegiate financial aid letters.
While National College Decision Day is only a few weeks away on May 1, there is still time for last-minute college information sessions. Students who are still looking for their perfect fall school can still apply to some universities. (In May, NACAC
will publish a list of colleges and universities that are still accepting applications from freshman and/or transfer students. The list will also provide information about still-available financial aid
and housing.)
Students in grades 9-11 should take advantage of possible workshops and information sessions throughout the next few months. This will give these students a positive perception on what to expect when decision day arrives for them. There are a number of
universities who actually host information sessions in April, allowing for the perfect spring break college campus visit (potentially virtual, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic).
As we approach the beginning of summer, NCAN encourages members to continue to take advantage of, and share, our college and career readiness calendar. The calendar was specifically designed to support school districts and their college readiness programming.
Be sure to check back every month to strategically plan the best activities to support your students’ postsecondary success.
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