“The way this site differs from anything else I’ve seen from the department in the last five to 10 years is that it is intended to be more of an attention grabber with some concrete steps on how to take action,” notes David Hawkins, director of public policy and research at the National Association for College Admissions Counseling.
Hawkins praises the site for bringing together information students previously had to hunt for.
But Hawkins adds “the site may fall victim to some of the same misconceptions about the college process … in the media and popular culture. It says standardized tests can be taken two or three times. But how many low-income students can afford to register for the tests two or three times? … .It doesn’t say that not all colleges require standardized tests.” (College.gov learned to refer people to assistance for the fees.)
“The idea is to get the message out in fliers and into the media,” Hawkins says. “If students don’t have access to discover this in the first place, they might receive a flier or see a TV or radio ad” and access the Internet at school or a public place such as a library.
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