Know Your Rights in the College Admission Process

The admission process can seem one-sided; you have to leap through the hoops that they set up to earn your final place in a freshman class. It’s true that you have several responsibilities, but you also have rights. Colleges are bound, by ethical code and by law, to give you certain information within a certain amount of time. Check it out before you sprain something with all that jumping.

SPGP Requirements:
The National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC––a student-advocate organization) member colleges and universities adhere to the Statement of Principles of Good Practice (SPGP), a set of good practice rules they agree to abide by to make the process more fair, which includes Students Rights and Responsibilities. 

Students Rights: What You Should Expect from Colleges

Application:
•	Colleges must relay factual and comprehensive information about admission, costs, aid opportunities, practices and packaging policies (including any early admission plans), and housing policies. 
•	Colleges cannot use high-pressure sales tactics.

Admission:
•	You are allowed to wait until May 1 to respond to an offer of admission and/or financial aid. Exception: Students accepted Early Decision.
•	Colleges that request commitments prior to May 1 must clearly offer you the opportunity to request (in writing) an extension until May 1 that will not jeopardize your status for admission and/or financial aid.
•	Wait/alternate list notifications must include the number of students on the waitlist, the number of students offered admission, and the availability of financial aid and housing.
•	Colleges can’t require deposits or written commitments as conditions of you remaining on their waitlists.
•	Colleges must notify you of your waitlist status by August 1.

If you think your rights have been denied, you should contact the college or university immediately to request additional information or the extension of a reply date. In addition, you should ask your counselor to notify the president of the NACAC affiliate in your region. 

If you need further assistance, send a copy of any correspondence you have had with the college or university and a copy of your letter of admission to NACAC, 1050 N. Highland Street, Suite 400, Arlington, VA 22201. Is there an email address?

Student Responsibilities: What You Need to Do

Application:
•	Talk to your school counselor early in the process. He or she will help you through the whole process, from research to filing your applications.
•	Research, understand and comply with the policies/procedures of each college’s application fees, financial aid, scholarships, and housing, especially when it comes to making deposits.
•	Attend a National College Fair to meet face-to-face with college representatives and get answers to your questions straight from the source.
•	If you can, visit colleges on your list.
•	Complete the applications and submit them on time.
•	Be honest––no one else should be applying for you!

Admission:
•	Notify each college whether you are accepting or rejecting its offer by May 1 (postmark date). 
•	Enroll at only one school and, if required, submit a deposit. Exception: the waitlist. If you are accepted at a school where you were waitlisted, you may enroll and submit any required deposit. You also must immediately notify the first college at which you enrolled and let them know you’ve changed your decision.
•	If you are accepted Early Decision, you must promptly withdraw applications submitted to other colleges. Exception: financial aid. If you are waiting to hear about financial aid before you make a decision, you don’t have to withdraw the applications.

Federal Requirements: New from the US Department of Education!
Congress requires colleges to disclose important information called “Students Right to Know” via the web. Here’s a sample––you’ll see that colleges must provide:

General:
•	The cost of attending––including tuition, books and supplies, housing, and related costs and fees
•	Requirements and procedures for withdrawing, including refund policies
•	Names of associations that accredit, approve or license the school
•	Special facilities and services for disabled students

Academics:
•	The academic programs, including degrees, programs of study and facilities
•	A faculty and instructional personnel list
•	Completion or graduation rates at the college
•	Community colleges (and other transfer colleges): information about the transfer-out rate

Financial Aid:
•	Types available, including federal, state and local government, need-based and non-need based, and private scholarships and awards
•	Methods for determining eligibility; how and when the aid is distributed
•	Work-study aid programs: terms and conditions of campus employment

Campus Security:
•	Procedures/policies for reporting campus crimes and emergencies, and the system of adjudication
•	The number and types of campus crime reported 
•	The drug offense policy, awareness and use prevention programs

Have questions about your rights or responsibilities?
[BOX]
Place for users to post questions and the AP Committee or NACAC staff can keep a running list of responses or do a Question of the Month?

Additional Resources:
NACAC: Students’ Rights and Responsibilities Brochure
College Navigator
US Department of Education: Student Guide
US Department of Education: Student Aid
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