NNE Enrollment is Now Open!
Purpose
The National Name Exchange was established to help prospective graduate students make an informed decision about graduate school and to help programs identify students interested in graduate study. The mission of the National Name Exchange is to improve access to graduate education for all students. The National Name Exchange seeks to:
- Improve student access to information on graduate school opportunities.
- Work towards personalizing the recruitment effort by designating a National Name Exchange institutional representative to facilitate information exchange between the institution and prospective students.
- Assist graduate schools in identifying qualified candidates for consideration for graduate study.
- Increase the number of qualified students from underrepresented groups accepted into graduate school.
How Students Benefit
Pursuing a graduate degree is often not a consideration for many underrepresented students—particularly those who may be first generation college students. By providing students easy access to information on the many graduate opportunities available to them, the NNE hopes that students will see graduate study as a viable goal. Here’s what participants are saying:
“Participating in the National Name Exchange has really been valuable to me. It’s been an eye opening experience. It really feels good when top institutions contact you to let you know about their graduate programs. This has taught me not to limit myself when applying to graduate school and to aim for nothing less than the stars.” — Student Participant, University of Maryland
“I am hearing from schools that I’m not sure I would have pursued otherwise, such as Harvard, Stanford, and Berkeley.” — Student Participant, University of Florida
Who Can Participate
All students are eligible to participate. We particularly encourage students who have a cumulative GPA over 3.0 to enroll in NNE. Students who have faced heightened barriers to accessing graduate education, including but not limited to the groups below, may find NNE resources to be particularly valuable:
- First generation college student
- A veteran of the US military
- Born or raised in a rural area
- From a racial or ethnic minority
- A woman in certain STEM fields
- Are from a low-income background
Student nomination to participate in NNE is coordinated by staff on college campuses. If you would like to know who your NNE coordinator is, please email nne@cgs.nche.edu.
- Which Schools are Participating?
- What Can You Do With a Graduate Degree?
Which Schools are Participating?
Learn which schools participate in the National Name Exchange and which offer fee waivers to prospective NNE students.
View Institution List
What Can You Do With a Graduate Degree?
Read real stories of how graduate degree-holders help their communities, inspire others, and work in careers they could never have imagined.
Read the GradImpact Gallery