Project Updates

Our recent working paper explores differences and disparities in letters of recommendation from school counselors!

Using natural language processing techniques, we analyzed counselor letters of recommendations from 600,000 college applications submitted through the Common Application platform. We found large and noteworthy naïve differences in letter length and content across nearly all demographic groups (e.g., many more sentences about Athletics among White and higher-SES students, longer letters, and more sentences on Personal Qualities for private school students). Findings reflect the importance of reading letters and overall applications in the context of structural opportunity. 

Extracurricular Activities Webinar

The webinar provides a high-level overview of our paper on inequality in extracurricular activities, specifically the trends and disparities in extracurricular reporting through Common App. For more reports and briefs from Common App, check out their website.

New Partnership Alert!

The College Admissions Futures Co-Laborative at the University of Maryland, College Park, was awarded $250,333 by the state of Illinois to help define a comprehensive, statewide plan to dramatically improve equity and diversity in higher education in the face of the Supreme Court’s recent decision in the SFFA case restricting affirmative action in higher education.

In partnership with the Pritzker administration, the College Admissions Futures Co-Laborative will join an Illinois state work group composed of secondary and post-secondary education leaders, scholars, and practitioners to advance an equitable post-secondary ecosystem for all in Illinois. The Working Group will identify and bring together expertise from across the country to inspire creativity and influence decision-makers from campus to the statehouse, on recruitment, admissions, enrollment, retention and matriculation practices, as well as other systemic paths to advance equity in education.


The Future of Test-Optional Policies: A Research-Practice Webinar

The session provided updates from two parts of the research grant, discussing the impact of these policies on enrollment, the effects of these policies on admission practices, and factors shaping institutional decision-making regarding the future of these test-optional policies.

Our latest policy report explores the adoption of test-optional policies during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Twitter Summary on “Test-Optional Policies in the Era of COVID-19: Responses from the College Admissions Community

Since March 2020, 86 institutions have become test-free, but little is known about these policies. Learn more about the findings from our study on test-free admissions:

Test-Free Admissions at Selective Institutions: Insights from Admissions Professionals

Test-Free Admissions, Why Wait?

Advancing Equity through Rethinking the Use of Standardized Tests in College Admissions (through the Campaign for College Opportunity)

Check out our policy brief on inequality in extracurricular activities from 6 million applications, as well as our working paper