The Admissions Research Consortium (ARC) aims to help colleges understand how the impacts of the pandemic are shaping their incoming classes, and how these impacts might continue to affect college performance outcomes in the future. ARC is a multiyear, collaborative research initiative with 80 participating colleges and associations, including the Association for Institutional Research (AIR), American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO), National Student Clearinghouse (NSC), and College Board. ARC is also guided by a Research Advisory Committee composed of academic and institutional researchers.

This Research Brief presents initial evidence from ARC on changes in application, admissions, and enrollment trends in the fall 2021 college application cycle compared to prior years, and evidence on applicants’ decisions about whether or not to submit their test scores.

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