<p>isn’t this a really bad move? i personally applied to BC because it didn’t have an essay and thought it was a reach. now the acceptance rate is going to be higher as there are less applicants. in addition, one of BC’s problems is diversity, and people from out of state are going to be less inclined to apply to a school that has a higher acceptance rate and essay. i would think this would cause BC to be less diverse and have a lower ranking over time. meanwhile, i’ve read about a big private school on the west coast accepts a huge amount of transfers in order to make less space for freshmen, and a lower, more impressive acceptance rate. they also did things like switch to the common app in order to lower their acceptance rate. although it’s shady i feel like most private schools run like a business and this is a bad business move…or am i wrong?</p>
<p>Not really. Overall, even though there is a higher “acceptance rate,” there was also a MUCH higher matriculation rate. Furthermore, the quality of the average accepted student, aka the avg. gpa, SAT/ACT score and rank of each matriculating student is much higher than in years past. BC is not looking to expand its class size for a VERY LONG time, so it makes sense that they want to reserve space for people who truly want to go to BC from the start.</p>
<p>Plus, if you’re really into thinking that a school’s acceptance rate is what makes or breaks the quality of a school, then I really don’t think you know how to judge a good school</p>
<p>One reason for the change was to discourage applicants who would use BC as a safety school. Acceptance rate may go up but so will the yield and retention rates.</p>
<p>I look at it this way. About 15 years ago BC (its administration and alumni) decided on a plan whereby BC would become a model of academic and cultural excellence </p>
<p>BC practices Jesuit principles (the Chronicle of Higher Education publishes yearly reports of university presidents’ salaries (unfortunately I can’t link to it because I don’t have a current subscription) and shows the salary of the president of Boston College as $0) and it’s hard to compare it to other similar institutions because its goal isn’t the same. It’s philosophically driven and really more about intellectual and artistic pursuits for their intrinsic value. For instance, as part of the Master Plan, an Art Museum will be built on the Brighton campus, and the new construction on the Main campus is carefully done in accordance with a particular architectural style (in the case of Stokes $78 million was spent to achieve this) and the list goes on. </p>
<p>Returning to your point, it fits in perfectly that BC’s supplement now requires an essay. The prompts are not easy ones and a 400-word limit requires soul searching and well, a lot of work. This too, was deliberate. BC was getting too many applications from students taking advantage of an easy application. The addition of this essay is the administration’s way of announcing that BC refuses to be considered a safety school for anyone. Read the essay prompts carefully - BC is revealing a lot about itself and what kind of student it wants. Would you really want to go to a college that is so insecure it has to go after and woo as many applicants as possible (knowing full well that the majority of them are only being used) to bolster their numbers for rankings? No, BC doesn’t play the ranking game. It prefers to be the real thing. So be happy</p>
<p>epooqeo: Don’t agree with everything said here. Here is my take on the situation: BC’s admin does handle all of its affairs including admission as a business affair. It was a deliberate business move to place an essay within last year’s application in order to reduce superfluous application (the “why nots?”)…and it worked…from 35,000 applications for the class of 2016 down to 25,000 applications for the class of 2017. But, this is when it starts getting tricky: they maintained the same acceptance rate of 28% for they accepted 7000 out of those 25,000…that way US News and World Report rankings are not affected. (So you need not worry). However, the yield was poor: only 1300 had accepted a spot for the class as of May 1 meaning a yield of 19%…very low (ie top accepted students went some place else probably ivies). So how do you compensate that and fill up the class of 2250 or so students? Well BC had put 6000 qualifying students in their waitlist and so on they went all summer long accepting students from the waitlist. If you check out the waitlist and decision threads, they were accepting students all the way until august. But the bottom line here is: yes, BC manages everything like a business and you know what, even though, it hurts and you may not agree with it, you should understand it and probably would do the same if you were in their shoes.</p>
<p>Acceptance rate is now at 32%, last years acceptance rate was 29%. The average SAT score has gone up 10 points from 2022 to 2032. So although yield rate and sat scores have gone up a very small amount, a 3% acceptance rate is a bit more substantial. Will be interesting to see how this plays out when looking at more than just one year.</p>
<p>Interesting to note that graduate enrollment has decreased by 200 (about 5%).</p>
<p>Undergraduate Applications and Selectivity
24,538 applicants
2,250 freshmen
Acceptance Rate: 32%
SAT Average: (Critical Reading, Math, Writing) 2032 on 2400 scale
Mid 50% SAT Range 1960-2150
82% of freshmen in top 10% of high school class</p>
<p>Formula and calculation:<br>
24538 * % = 2250</p>
<p>Yes so the yield rate improved from 25% to 28%, but that was not enough to make up fully for the fact that BC had far fewer applications, thus the acceptance rate increased to 32%. The statistical quality of the students also did not seem to increase in any substantial way (part of the hope when they added the essay).</p>
<p>From the students I met at Orientation and other occasions, I am VERY impressed on their intellectual quality, experience and manner. My son started at BC for only a week, I already see a big change in him in maturity. As the parent, I am pleased he gets accepted to BC and be surrounded by the students there. My daughter just graduated w/ an engineering degree from another similar ranking university, we were pleased with the school but not like crazy about it. For BC, if we get a call for donation, we will be happy to conribute some money, that is how we feel about BC.</p>
<p>I’m sorry, epooqeo, I just can’t look at the heading of this thread any longer without informing you that it should be ‘fewer aplicants’ not “less applicants”. Please look up the difference.</p>
<p>If that troubles you, imagine your reaction to “fewer aplicants” being wrong. If you’re going to criticize someone spelling or grammar, you might make sure yours is right :-)</p>
<p>My opinion: Each school should have its own essay and for that matter entrance exam. The main benefit, of which, would be to wean kids off of the common application and the ease of applying to a dozen different schools. A secondary benefit would be to replace the SAT which is broken and can no longer predict a great student from an average student.</p>
<p>You’re right, looks like I misspelled ‘applicants’, but I swear I looked carefully at every word before posting, knowing how my own words would be scrutinized, and I DO know the correct spelling of that word, thank you very much.</p>
<p>Sometimes I think these stupid computers sense when someone is being critical – albeit constructively – and they throw in an error just to make that person look dumb. We’re in trouble if that’s happening…</p>
<p>But seriously, while I did draw notice to incorrect diction, I said nothing about spelling. And, by the way, it’s “…someone’s spelling or grammar…”, not “…someone…”</p>
<p>Now, I have carefully read and re-read this. If an error pops up after I post it, my suspicions will have been proved right!</p>
<p>My daughter got off of the waitlist in june and ended up getting like a 3.7 in some hard courses. she loves the school but studies all the time. i graduated from emory law school and i wouldn’t give them a cent. i will give BC money. It has shown her a higher class of people and has gotten her away from the losers she hung out with in high school</p>
<p>Georgetown, LMU, and several other Jesuit institutions across the country have required essays and other items for the writing supplement for a very long time.BC was the only outlier w/out writing prompts that required the student to consider the unique mission of the institution. Even though BC accepts non-Cathoic students, it IS a Catholic institution. Why shouldn’t an applicant be prepared to discuss his/her values and congruence with BC’s? In addition, BC’s move is really on par with what other highly selective institutions require. When my son applied three years ago and was accepted, neither he nor I could understand why there was no supplement when EVERY other university required one. Interestingly enough, his class (2016), then was the last year BC did not have the supplement. My hunch is that BC is getting a larger proportion of students who are not just hedging their bets with applications to other highly selective universities and really ARE willing to put in the little additional time it takes to write a few hundred thoughtful words about Why BC and its particular brand of education. If 10k applicants are that lazy as to bypass BC because of a writing supplement, but willing to shell out yet another costly application fee, that seems to me it is 10k less, useless candidates BC needs to evaluate. Bravo, BC.</p>