Oct. 26, 2025 9:45a
(WGTD)--On The Morning Show, a rare look at the back-room admissions process at Carthage College.
Carthage set a record this fall for freshmen enrollment and for the total number of students who are enrolled.
Carthage Vice-President of Enrollment Ashley Hanson outlined a multi-pronged process of connecting with potential students. It's a year-round process that's carefully orchestrated.
Even as schools struggle with a smaller pool of high school graduates because of the lower birth rate, the admissions process at Carthage is still selective. "Of our 11,000+ applicants for this last year, just over 9,000 of them were accepted to Carthage and 930 of them chose to enroll at Carthage," she said.
What might knock an applicant out of the running? The school takes a close look at the backgrounds of applicants in an effort to make sure they’ll be successful if they come to Carthage. "We want to make sure that students know that if they are accepted we know that they can be successful at Carthage," Hanson said. "That doesn't mean that they (if enrolled) won't have challenges but the resources and people will be in place (to help them)," she said.
Hanson has some advice for high school students and their parents who are beginning the process of selecting a college or university, be it either a four-year or two-year school. Students should think about what their dream job might be. They should visit both large and small schools and make a determination in advance of just how close to home the school should be.
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