Illustration: The Chronicle

For years, college counseling centers were overrun, unable to keep up with students’ demand for mental-health services. Getting them help fast became increasingly urgent.

One by one, colleges started contracting third-party, higher-ed-focused teletherapy providers to assist their in-house counselors. Now, hundreds of colleges use these companies. New Jersey recently purchased teletherapy access for every college student in the state; last week, the state extended that partnership through the spring of 2025.

Photo: Kevin Dietsch

The recent resignations of the presidents of Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania, following their testimony at a blistering congressional hearing on campus antisemitism, was a highly visible symbol of the pressure on top college leaders.

Those departures are now highlighting a central question on the minds of many people: Has being a college president become an impossible job?

Colleges are quietly buying—or licensing—lists of potential student names and personal information from companies administering tests like the SAT and ACT. The goal? Recruit, but also recruit to reject. The more applicants a college recruits, the more selective and prestigious it appears on certain college rankings lists.

This episode of College Uncovered explores how both selective and less selective colleges and universities use enrollment and financial aid management strategies to increase their applicant pool, lower admission rates, and meet their bottom line.