What are the steps to successfully apply to university? The following stages are likely familiar to you:
- You research a number of universities
- You select those that interest you based on this research
- You submit applications to these institutions
- You wait to hear back from them.
The traditional application process requires you, the student, to carry out the bulk of the work in applications. From researching and selecting universities to awaiting a response about an offer, everything is on you, which can be a source of anxiety and stress.
What if there was an alternative to this that involved the university shouldering the work – researching students and selecting their ideal applicants and reaching out to you?
Thanks to the work of innovative platforms, this is now possible. This trend is called “reverse admissions”, and this article will lead you through what it is and how to participate in it.
What are reverse admissions?
To participate in reverse admissions, a student must complete a very basic profile (this involves much less work than a full application) and submit it to a dedicated platform. Universities will then look through these profiles, decide who might be an ideal student for their campus and then reach out to the individual directly.
This is different from the mass marketing emails from universities that likely clog up your inbox, which are sent more or less indiscriminately to a huge group of students. However, when a university contacts you through reverse admission platforms, you can trust that the university has specifically singled you out.
But what does it mean exactly when universities reach out to you, having decided that you would be an ideal applicant? It depends on the platform: METO and Concourse, the two reverse admissions tools at the moment, do things in different ways.
Tools for reverse admissions
For both METO and Concourse, you will initially have to sign up and supply important details such as your grades, classes, subject interests and estimated family contribution. METO and Concourse will then share this information with universities in their network. From that point, they operate differently.
METO
When a university that uses METO spots a candidate who fits its profile of a competitive applicant, it sends that person an encouragement to apply. This comes in the form of an email that contains the name and contact information of an admissions officer. The message encourages you to get in touch with them directly to ask further questions about applying.
The universities on this list may likely be universities you are familiar with already, so hearing from them directly can be a really motivating experience.
Check out this link to get started:
Concourse
Through Concourse, universities will make genuine offers of places to those they believe will be a good fit for their institution. Students are not obliged to accept any offers they receive.
The offer comes with clear delineation of scholarship offers as well, which tend to be good packages (for the class of 2024, Concourse delivered more than US$4.5 billion in scholarships in total). This can help you make a financially informed decision from the start, which is not possible with traditional admission processes, which require you to wait until the university gives you an admission decision. The option to chat with admissions officers is also made possible through Concourse.
To use Concourse, you will have to upload a copy of your transcript. Ask your college counsellor for help with that.
You can sign up through this link: http://bit.ly/match-student
Strategic use of these tools
You can use both platforms in different stages of your university application journey.
A METO encouragement to apply can help you build a more strategic list, knowing that a university sends an encouragement only after it has reviewed your profile. This is helpful especially if your school sets a policy that limits the number of applications that can be submitted.
A Concourse offer on the table can give you set, safety offer that is enhanced by a solid financial aid package. This can be a great plan B in case your initial plans fall through, or you can use these offers as part of your list building in the first place.
Signing up to these platforms will allow you to get personalised encouragements to apply and offers from universities, possibly as early as the spring semester of junior year. Imagine the confidence boost and the stress relief this can possibly provide.
The university application journey may be a burdensome process, but it does not always have to be. Use these two reverse platforms to lighten your workload and make smarter choices about where to spend the next stage of your life.
