Not all students who could benefit from college apply. With data on more than 1.2 million high schoolers, this report from Annenberg Institute at Brown University shows that nearly 25 percent of students started but never completed a college application during the 2018-19 application cycle. The study also finds large gaps by race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and education-career plans, as well as by school type and community features.
In addition, the study suggests that early application tasks and engagement strongly predict non-submission.
The report concludes by stating that students who didn’t complete their applications had similar GPAs, SAT scores, and educational goals to those who finished. Tapping into this pool of applicants could help both colleges and students.