Over the years, the process of applying has changed, inevitably adding more steps not only for each person, but also for schools and the complementary companies. First, schools perform research on students by collecting massive amounts of information. Students are required to submit addresses, interests, clubs, test scores, and even the education of their parents. All these pieces of information are collected on databases, most commonly through the College Board. Schools then collect all this in tandem with test scores by buying each student for just 45 cents per person. Schools will ask for information by ranges and qualifications, such as any student with a score over 34 on the ACT. Next, schools hire market research groups to not only survey but spread accurate and convincing information about the school. In terms of Washington and Lee, the school hired the Lawlor group in 2015. This group asked questions regarding what people thought about the school and history, if people had ever heard of the school, how they heard about the school, and if people would be willing to apply. Following the survey questions, the group attempted to correct any misconceptions and introduce the concepts of the possibilities in changing the names of the buildings and school, and emphasize the opportunities available at the school. From using the Lawlor Group, the admissions office was able to narrow down the goals of the next few years. In terms of advertisements, it seemed that more young people were involved online, but ultimately parents are the most important in the final decision of schools. 10 years ago, print advertisements were scaled back, mostly due to budget concerns, but 5 years ago, they were more introduced and effectively increased, following this study. They found that the advertisements should be more colorful and full of pictures to be more effective. One of the interesting targets created from the market research was that students from rural areas were more inclined to come here, so advertisements should be tailored in such way. With changing demographics of the United States, many people found Washington and Lee to not be diverse enough and would not come here. Finally with these targets in mind, the application process occurs so that two people read each application with the assumption that the student applies to roughly nine schools and gets into about 6-7. With each grade being about 450 students, the acceptance rate is somewhere around 21%. 

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