<p>Isn't interesting that the same thing could have been said ... last year and will probably be said next year. </p>
<p>Some numbers for 2010 at the Ivies for applications, admissions, and admit rates:</p>
<p>22753 2109 9.27% Harvard
21099 1823 8.64% Yale
17653 1792 10.15% Princeton
18313 2525 13.79% Brown
19848 2267 11.42% Columbia
13937 2150 15.43% Darmouth
20479 3622 17.69% Penn
28097 6927 24.65% Cornell
162179 23215 14.31% Total</p>
<p>Changes in applications in one year:
2009 2010<br>
22796 22753 -0.19% Harvard
19451 21099 8.47% Yale
16516 17653 6.88% Princeton
16900 18313 8.36% Brown
18216 19848 8.96% Columbia
12615 13937 10.48% Dartmouth
18749 20479 9.23% Penn
24452 28097 14.91% Cornell
149695 162179 8.34% Total</p>
<p>Changes in applications in two years:
2008 2010<br>
19752 22753 15% Harvard
19674 21099 7% Yale
13695 17653 29% Princeton
15268 18313 20% Brown
18236 19848 9% Columbia
12500 13937 11% Dartmouth
18202 20479 13% Penn
20822 28097 35% Cornell
138149 162179 17% Total</p>
<p>Obviously the Ivy League's statistics do not tell the entire story. However, several schools that were historically stable jumped by close to 20%. For instance, Swarthmore jumped from 4085 to 4850 in just one year. The school accounts for the jump by pointing to the fact that they did start accepting application fees via credit card. I would tend to believe that a few different factors contributed to this, starting with Interesteddad's unabated cheerleading. He must have convinced at least 500 students of Swaaat's greatness. :)</p>
<p>So 23,215 total ivy acceptances went to how many students?</p>
<p>And wassup at Harvard? Maybe they had already maxed out. The old model was to apply to Harvard and one other Ivy. Now it's apply to Harvard and 5 other ivies! So Harvard apps don't increase, while everyone else gets more apps... Just a THEORY.. more analysis needed.. more data! more data!</p>
<p>I don't think that the overall admit rates really tell enough of the story. Xiggi is there anyway to break down the admit rates for each school to show the EA/ED admit rate and then the RD admit rate? To me it is the RD admit rate that really shows the rate of acceptance for the majority of applicants.</p>
<p>Your theory makes sense.</p>
<p>Some other schools with large increases in apps include JHU (23%), Emory (18%), and Middlebury (17%). On the other hand, Amherst was down 2% and Williams basically flat.</p>
<p>"So 23,215 total ivy acceptances went to how many students?"</p>
<p>Ah, the old unique versus multiple applications conundrum. At a minimum, we know that more than 6,000 of the 23,215 admits are discrete applicants </p>
<p>Inasmuch as the numbers of multiple applications might creep up, the historical comparisons are still valid.</p>
<p>No evidence that the number of Ivy applicants went up, just the number of applications. As more and more folks apply ED, and more and more are rejected, the number of applicants per applicant goes up. Once you eliminate the pure hail marys and the international applicants without a prayer, there are likely no more than 50-60,000 actual Ivy applicants. With a cross-Ivy yield of maybe 85%, there are 27,000 discrete admits. In other words, the Ivy admit rate is close to 50%.</p>
<p>But the impact is as the number of applications goes up, actual selectivity goes down, as there is less chance that the school (with the exception of H.) will actually get the applicant it wants, and less chance that the applicant will get into the school s/he would do best by attending. </p>
<p>In other words, with the law of diminishing returns, more applications is a BAD thing - for the school and for the applicants.</p>
<p>"Xiggi is there anyway to break down the admit rates for each school to show the EA/ED admit rate and then the RD admit rate?"</p>
<p>Of course there is. :)</p>
<p>Seems like every year can be called a "perfect storm" year, when it comes to the Ivies. Even the surprising results from the schools in the safety tier have been part of the trend for years.</p>
<p>It seems around our neck of the woods (CA), the high end kids (if they apply to a super-selective school at all) will apply to HYP and Stanford. For most of them, the other Ivies don't exist. Have only had a small handful of Cornell applicants over the years. So our high school isn't contributing to the almost 30K (!!) applicants there.</p>
<p>Without entering into the details of "deferred/later admitted" discussions, this is how a RD versus ED/ED might look. The blended rates are above. </p>
<p>ED/EA Admission Rates* </p>
<p>3872 804 20.76% Harvard
4084 724 17.68% Yale
2236 599 26.79% Princeton
2538 583 22.97% Brown
2275 582 25.58% Columbia
1321 398 30.13% Dartmouth
4184 1445 34.54% Penn
2836 1106 39.00% Cornell
23346 6241 26.72% Total</p>
<p>RD Rates
18881 1305 6.91% Harvard
17015 1101 6.47% Yale
15327 1193 7.74% Princeton
15775 1942 12.31% Brown
17573 1685 9.59% Columbia
12616 1752 13.89% Dartmouth
16295 2177 13.36% Penn
25261 5821 23.04% Cornell
138743 16976 12.23% Total</p>
<p>*final numbers might be a bit different</p>
<p>Thanks Xiggi! You are a cc treasure.</p>
<p>Xiggi, the 6,000 figure you cite would be the ED acceptances to the non EA ivies. This would seem to be a generally inferior subset of applicants. Those who lack the confidence to even apply to Harvard (or Yale) and need the ED boost to get into one of the lesser ivies. This is such a fun topic!</p>
<p>"Xiggi, the 6,000 figure you cite would be the ED acceptances to the non EA ivies. This would seem to be a generally inferior subset of applicants."</p>
<p>I do not stay on top of those things as I should, but I think there are 6 ED schools and two SCEA schools in the Ivy League. As far as being generally inferior, you would have to add a comparison. Inferior to the RD pool? Inferior to other schools?</p>
<p>Note that the RD rates are double counted (I think), including those who were deferred in the ED round.</p>
<p>"Note that the RD rates are double counted (I think), including those who were deferred in the ED round."</p>
<p>That is why I posted the caveat ... but the deferred are actually not included. Including would lower the RD admit rate. </p>
<p>For a concrete example of how this works, let's read the details posted by Yale:</p>
<p>Yale accepted 1,823 students this year from a total pool of 21,099 applicants, a pool 8.5 percent larger than last year's. The acceptance rate for the regular decision pool of 18,976 -- which included 1,961 students deferred from early admission -- was 5.8 percent. In the early round of admissions, 724 of 4,084 applicants were accepted for a 17.7 percent acceptance rate, also a record low.</p>
<p>Without counting the deferred twice, the numbers would be 17015-1099- 6.46%. </p>
<p>PS The Penn ED rate in the tables above is wrong. Penn's numbers for ED are 4148/1180 and 16331/2442 for RD. </p>
<p>At least, until the next Stetson's headcount. :)</p>
<p>
[quote]
For instance, Swarthmore jumped from 4085 to 4850 in just one year. The school accounts for the jump by pointing to the fact that they did start accepting application fees via credit card.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>That hasn't been mentioned by the Dean of Admissions, Jim Bock, in recent articles. He attributed the increase, in part, to demographics and students applying to multiple schools. He also said that the "Why Swat?" essays this year showed the impact of national media coverage of student-led social action initiatives at Swarthmore, specifically the Genocide Intervention Fund (Sudan) and War News Radio (a weekly student news/interview show on Iraq).</p>
<p>My own theory is that we have a long line of colleges in a neat row, all moving towards a theoretical "max" number of applications. The first year, the top-rated school (for that year) in USNEWS moves forward to the max. As soon as that school moves, the next one in line moves foward to the max line, and so on and so forth down the line -- not unlike the sequential nature of "the wave" traveling around a football stadium.</p>
<p>NJres, I know you qualified it by the word "generally," but I think it is unfair to assume that those applying ED to the lesser ivys are generally inferior students to those applying to Harvard and Yale. First, that assumes that every applicant would prefer Harvard and Yale if he or she were competitive to be accepted. I know this is not true. Some stellar applicants favor the lesser ivys over Harvard and Yale. (They may have a legacy-related affection for a particular lesser ivy, may want to be in NYC, may have a friend or sibling who loved a lesser ivy, etc. Not every student chooses a college by prestige or USNews rankings.) Second, many of the super achievers and their parents recognize the reality of college admissions, that without a hook, Harvard and Yale are nearly impossible for the overrepresented group of students, regardless of qualifications. These kids and their parents further recognize that coming from a competitive private or magnet school, Harvard and Yale will take just so many of the top kids (see Jay Matthews' article of a few years ago.) (I know someone who wouldn't let her son go to the magnet high school he wanted to attend because his chances at getting into Harvard from his home, less competitive, high school would be greater than had he been competing against the other magnet kids.) (I firmly believe that although Harvard and Yale may not have "quotas" for admits from any particular high school they certainly have target numbers that limit the admission of super qualified kids in competitive high schools.) The unhooked (to Harvard or Yale) top kids have to go somewhere else. These kids may have legacy connections at a lesser ivy so they apply there in the ED round when it counts. Finally, many students applying to Harvard and Yale as SCEA applicants are not the superior students. Many students believe that they get a boost by applying early and thus may have a shot at getting in even without top qualifications. As long Harvard and Yale admit at least one 1200 SAT-type student, they are in effect encouraging many many unhooked 1200 SAT (old SAT) students to apply SCEA, assuming these are the kids you have referred to as "inferior."</p>
<p>Just my thoughts. For what they are worth.</p>
<p>Does anyone have stats on the population trends of the current 6th-11th graders? My D's class (2006 hs grads) set record-highs with boarding school apps. and now again with college apps.</p>
<p>I'm hoping the trends reverse by the time S (hs class of 2012) graduates and the colleges are begging for students!</p>
<p>Colleges are begging for students NOW. Just not the "top" 150 or so.</p>