Georgia Match is a collaboration between state government agencies designed to encourage more students to pursue higher education. According to Gov. Brian Kemp’s office, all high school seniors received an eligibility letter of admission to the 22 Technical College System of Georgia institutions.
Based on their 11th grade HOPE GPA and freshman index score, which is calculated from a student’s HOPE GPA and SAT/ACT score, some students also saw up to 23 University System of Georgia institutions on their letter. These letters do not guarantee admission — students still have to apply before being accepted.
The University of Georgia, the Georgia Institute of Technology and Georgia College and State University were not included in the letters because these three institutions use a more holistic admissions process, which takes into account more factors than grades and test scores.
The impact of a letter
Cedar Shoals High School senior Aissatou Sarr said receiving her Georgia Match letter relieved her anxiety about applying to college. Sarr said her goal is to go to Spelman College or Augusta University and pursue dentistry, and that Georgia Match gave her more confidence to apply to more schools.
Another senior at Cedar Shoals, Haydee Vilchiz, said that Georgia Match did not change her plans for applying to college because she already knew she wanted to apply to Augusta University or Berry College to study to become a physical therapist. But seeing so many colleges on her letter, including Augusta University, reassured her.
Vilchiz said that Georgia Match could help people decide whether they’re going to college, but it could be more useful if it got sent out earlier in a student’s career, when they’re still planning on what colleges to apply to. According to Kemp’s office, Georgia Match is intended to help students who don’t typically consider postsecondary education apply to college.
Although only students with a Social Security number will receive a Georgia Match letter, North Oconee High School counselor Christina Harris said that Georgia Match can still help undocumented students who are motivated by seeing their peers receive their letters.
Harris works with the nonprofit U-Lead Athens, which helps students who are immigrants and from immigrant families access higher education.
“The letter, again, is very exciting and can give lots of hope, especially when you’re working with a population that is historically underserved,” Harris said.
Harris said that students will be able to see their “matches” on the GAFutures website and select their top three matches. Doing so will indicate that the student is interested, which lets colleges know to reach out to the student.
Clarke Central High School senior Ziyon Smalls said that he already planned on attending UGA, which is one of the three USG schools not participating in Georgia Match, but that receiving the Georgia Match letter made him feel more secure about attending college.
“I felt very confident, being that I’ve seen a few colleges that I’ve admired,” Smalls said. “I actually saw another good list of colleges that actually I didn’t know anything about.”
Smalls added that he thinks Georgia Match could be disappointing for some students if they don’t see the colleges they thought they could get into on their letter. Vilchiz agreed, saying that students who don’t see many colleges on their letters could be discouraged.
Harris said that 77% of students at North Oconee already plan on attending a four-year institution, and 14% plan on attending a two-year institution. She thinks Georgia Match will still make a difference for those students who haven’t considered college and will increase the options for students who already want to go to college.
“We have 26 USG … schools in this state, and students sometimes know about five of them and maybe won’t consider some of the ones they just haven’t heard of before,” Harris said.
Dipping enrollment
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, encouraging enrollment in colleges and universities became a top priority across the nation. Enrollment in USG colleges and universities decreased slightly in 2021 and 2022, after steady increases from 2013 to 2020. Sarr agreed that COVID-19 harmed many students’ school careers, including her own. She said that the pandemic created a lot of uncertainty about grading standards and made it more difficult to get involved in clubs, volunteering and social activities.
In 2015, Idaho became the first state to adopt a direct admissions program. Since then, a 2022 study published in Higher Ed Dive showed that first-time undergraduate enrollment increased by 4-8% and in-state student enrollment by 8-15%, although the impact was mostly on community colleges rather than four-year institutions.
One report from the U.S. Department of Education suggested that direct admissions are likely to increase college enrollment. In one study the DOE cited, students who received an offer of direct admission were 12% more likely to apply to college, and this effect was higher for first generation students, low-income students and students of color.
‘An option for everybody’
While students agree that Georgia Match is overall helpful in the college application process, Sarr and Vilchiz said that more needs to be done to encourage high schoolers to go to college.
Vilchiz said that, as a first generation student, it can be difficult to ask for help. She suggested that colleges could be more proactive in reaching out to students through email, and that creating spaces for minority students would make her more interested in attending a specific college.
Sarr said that Georgia Match was beneficial to her and her peers, and she thinks other states should implement similar programs to help seniors overcome the doubt and confusion of the college application process.
“Georgia Match [shows students that] college is an option for you, college is an option for everybody,” Sarr said. “No one ever should feel like just because they’re living in a certain situation or they’re having certain struggles that they can’t go to college, and they can’t get their education and live a good life.”
Source: The Red & Black