Dive Brief:

• The National Association for College Admission Counseling has taken a position against the dissemination of certain student information from the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA.
• When students list on the application up to 10 institutions that they are applying to, some colleges and universities use the order of the names on the list when making decisions about admissions, wait-listing, or financial aid, Inside Higher Ed reported.
• Students are not notified that this information is supplied to the schools that they list, or that it may be used against them if a school’s admissions office believes it isn’t first on the list — commonly believed to coincide with the student’s first choice. 

Dive Insight:

The U.S. Education Department has said it will review its practice of sharing the FAFSA college list information. The association for admission counseling, which represents both high school counselors and college admissions officers, has best practice guidelines that says applicants should not be asked where else they’ve applied. In an email to its members, the association said keeping that information private is “integral” to fair admissions.