Simply stated, enrollment management is an organized concept of strategies and methods in structuring the enrollment mix of students within a college or university.

Sometimes it doesn't seem to make sense why one student wasn't accepted to a particular college while another student with similar achievements was accepted. It may seem almost random. However, there is much more than just academic achievements and test scores that go into the college's decision process of who they accept and who they deny. This process is Enrollment Management.

A defined Enrollment Management scheme gives the colleges a method for balancing their mix of students on factors including:

• academic achievement
• special talents / athletic ability
• financial ability / need
• ethnic background
• student's region of the country

Depending upon the school, these factors and more come into play with the admissions process. Understanding where your student falls in the Enrollment Management chart for their college picks is helpful in understanding the likelihood of acceptance and financial aid.