I was looking through the accpetance %s and noticed that chicago was at 40% quite a bit higher than the ivys 10 and other i thought to be comaprable schools (NYU Georgetown Notre Dame) 20s. Is it easier to get into or is the number just wrong? If so, what other schools are comparable ot Chicago?
<p>Chicago doesn't accept common app so less people apply, yet you're still competing with really strong candidates</p>
<p>I believe Chicago numbers to be accurate and when you think about what the number tells you:: Chicago is self selective. It is not on a marketing campaign to change the number to a smaller percentage. Chicago is not in the habit of buying smartees thus raising the stats of class and it has a stellar academic reputation....look at the number of Nobel Laureates. As long as the other schools drive up the number of applicants relative to the number of class members their percentage will remain high. Penn is another case of relatively high admit % for it has a larger student body than some of the other Ivy schools.</p>
<p>Actually the number is correct. Chicago does not get many applicants because of the daunting application but they still need to accept enough people to fill their freshman class.</p>
<p>I'd say the reason they don't get "many" applicants is that their reputation for high level academics is strong but it is in the midwest and therefore perhaps not as popular as some coastal schools. I will admit that their essay topics are pretty famous....discussed much.</p>
<p>I think it's a daunting application...at least in the sense that someone will not just be like "sure, why not" and add chicago to their list of schools just for the sake of applying. Someone will have to spend a decent amount of time working on the chicago essays. The same cannot be said of Harvard, for example. I know of many people who have applied simply because "Oh it's common app and the essays I have work for it" and just applied as an afterthought to "see what would happen" Maybe that's why they get so many applicants...</p>
<p>Yeah...if a college accepts the commonapp they are bound to receive more applications because of the ease of applying.</p>
<p>The %-accepted is not the best measure of selectivity. If you just use that measure, then the most selective college in the country each year is typically the Coast Guard Academy at 7-8%. You have to look at the SAT scores and other measures of the people being accepted. I agree with earlier comments about applicants to some colleges being self-selected.</p>
<p>See a similar (and lengthy) thread on the Chicago board: Why</a> is the acceptance rate so high?</p>
<p>Also Penn doesn't accept the common app either</p>
<p>What one doesn't know regarding common apps is: does the common app which may require a supplement count? If the applicant doesn't complete the total application ie recs, scores etc. are the schools counting these in the stat pool of applicants?? I have always wondered this. I mean you can complete the common app+supplements if req'd. but not submit all required materials and I'll bet they count it as an app.</p>
<p>But if you don't get accepted or rejected, how can they really count you as an applicant?</p>
<p>Don't they just send you a "sorry but your app was incomplete" letter? </p>
<p>If they're counting it as an app to boost their numbers, they should give you real decision.</p>
<p>Some schools have part 1 and part 2 application forms. You mail in part 1 with the fee, they mail you back part 2 for you to fill in. I have definitely read in a book (for what it is worth) that completing part 1 without part 2 means that you count for selectivity purposes. I think they can count anyone that pays the fee.</p>
<p>Hey dufus I have read and heard this very same thing. I think that any app that has paid or had a waiver is counted whether the file is complete or not. I think that "app" for stats does not mean "application complete" and thus the marketing campaign for getting the early sign up...the part I and II. It is interesting that when the %s are released all newly admitted students pat themselves on the back for they believe they competed against all applied as opposed to all completed. Just a thought.</p>
<p>How many of those submitted-a-part-I-but-didn't-complete-app people do you think there are, percentage wise?</p>
<p>Chicago's a unique place. The top women's colleges, unique for a different reason, also have relatively high acceptance rates--Wellesley about the same as Chicago, Smith over 50%, and Bryn Mawr nearly 60%. But no one would argue that these aren't top-tier colleges. I'm not so sure about the self-selection argument, as the yield rates of these schools tends to be low--Chicago only a third of those accepted opt to attend. Which is why they need to accept a higher percentage! I think the answer to the OP may be that these schools know that they're competing with the Ivies and other top schools for students, and their uniqueness leads to a smaller yield, and thus the neccessity for higher acceptance rate.</p>
<p>Jacking the % number is the waitlist because most folks feel like waitlist is a very high number of "yes" let me commit. Or shall I say the yield from waitlist is high. Chicago could approach this differently but they must be happy with their student body for I don't see much effort to Amp the results.</p>
<p>I just ran some colleges for somebody thru Barron's Profiles that contains 1650 colleges, and there were some low %-accepted numbers for colleges that have average SAT scores. Flagler in St Augustine FL has an average SAT of 1110/1600 and a %-accepted of 23%. City University of New York (CUNY) - Baruch has an average SAT of 1040/1600 and a %-accepted of 33%. I don't think the %-accepted means much.</p>
<p>It means they create a divisor.....that is about it. Many foks don't understand this apparently.</p>