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[quote]
Columbia College and the School of Engineering and Applied Science admitted 9.82 percent of all applicants to the prospective class of 2013, which will yield its most selective undergraduate class yet.</p>
<p>In accordance with recent trends, SEAS increased its selectivity this year, admitting 14.42 percent of applicants, about three percent fewer than last years 17.6 percent. On the other hand, the College was slightly less selective, as 8.92 percent of students were admitted, proportionately slightly more than last years 8.71 percent. The College also saw an enrollment increase of 50 students for the upcoming year, which allows for a slight decrease in selectivity in the admissions process.
<p>yea, every year pretty much is. it’s nothing special and this is old news. Most of it is just high school kids going bonkers and applying to dozens of schools, more than in previous years. That by itself doesn’t make pools more competitive. But admit rates will continue to fall as it becomes easier to get through and submit applications.</p>
<p>^As a general matter, I agree with you, confidentialcoll. Remember, however, that Columbia does not yet use the Common Application. If and when the custom application form is abandoned, the crazy numbers will get crazier.</p>
<p>thank goodness they don’t use the common app
just so ya know, when you look at the numbers, sometimes an increase of 20percent, 5 percent blah blah blah isn’t even significant
the early decision pool increased by like 20percent but that is ONLY 80 more people applying
and it’s not like this trend keeps going up…some years colleges have more people…some less but roughly it stays constant…ex…penn’s applicant pool decreased about 20percent i think for the class of 2013</p>
<p>and colleges can’t keep raising their standards…so more of these people who apply may be less qualified, making colleges turn away more of them</p>
<p>^penn’s applicant pool stayed flat this year. But there is a fallacy: a growing applicant pool does not imply a decrease in average quality. The two variables are largely uncorrelated for an individual university. So if average applicant quality is decreasing all round, penn’s applicant pool could have stayed the same size and decreased in quality. applicant size not increasing does not mean quality remains the same, it could go up or down, and if you assume it’s going down at other places it would be fair to say that it’s most likely that penn’s follows the trend. The only clear effect of a greater number of applicants should be a decrease in yield which should lead to schools accepting more students over time.</p>
<p>Changes in # of applicants are subject to randomness over 1 or 2 years, but over 5 to 10 years you can usually see clear trends.</p>