So the list is generally saying that it is more likely for me to be accepted at a lower rank compared to higher rank school? Or is it saying that a higher rank school weighs test scores and HS profiles more heavily in admissions?
Yes.
I would just say: You are of course anxious and looking for logic and an answer. Everything on here is pure speculation. You just donât know.
I am also in Fairfield County and undoubtedly in a town similar to yours. My kids graduated HS in 2003 and 2007, so I feel like Iâve seen a lot of stuff. You are going to be fine â youâre going to get into one of the âhardâ schools. We just donât know which.
Waiting is hard.
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Hi guys, thanks for all the support!
First update:
Accepted: Amherst, Colby
Rejected: Bowdoin, Williams
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Excellent. You canât go wrong with either Amherst or Colby. And there will undoubtedly be more acceptances to come.
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Congratulations on your latest acceptances! Looking forward to seeing where you decide to enroll!
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Incredible acceptances!!! Congratulations!
Amherst is a great college town and with Northampton nearby, thereâs lots to do in the area.
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All of these US Newsâ rankings and other similar rankings need to be taken into a mathematical context and not be taken seriously, IMO. That is, if you start mass marketing with hundreds of brochures, postcards, and letters and thereby increase the total # of applicants yoy (year over year), your selectivity will bound to go up â maybe even skyrocket! if your marketing tactics were super successful - LOL! Why is that? Because # of Admitted Students / # of Applicants will shrink by a huge margin!!! Sadly, too many teens with (misplaced) high hopes apply to all these Ivies and stanfords of the world when in fact thereâs 0 or even a negative chance of being considered for the 1st round let alone the last round of the application review process.
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These ranking systems need to go away. Itâs never an accurate picture of the âqualityâ of a school as no school is at top for every single major, every single department, and every single social/campus life/student persona quality. And, what is #1 to #last to one person may be different to what is #1 to #last to someone else. Really, I wish these rankings would go away as it Distracts, Deters, and overall Misinforms potential candidates of exploring their âperfect fitâ based on their individual priorities of which these types of rankings distract, deter, and misinform.
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These types of comments tend to be made by posters who do not read U.S. News. For example, USN does not consider acceptance rate for any of its rankings, including that for selectivity, which it defines indirectly through âstudent excellence.â And, this is, by category, a chances topic, for which sourced and data-based information may be helpful for initial estimates of likelihood of admission.
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Rankings arenât perfect but since Iâm not the type of person who puts quality in quotes, I still find rankings useful. Regardless, this probably isnât the thread for this discussion.
That is fantastic!!! Amherst college is in a beautiful little college town, plus youâd have the resources of the 5 college consortium (which includes UMass Amherst, right next door) available to you, so you have access to the resources of a large flagship state U close by, plus 3 other LACs). Amherst is usually ranked as a very top LAC. And itâs a reasonable distance from home for you.
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Any updates, @Alexhe?
Accepted Conn College and Hamilton, waitlisted Middlebury!
Tufts, Ivies, Stanford next week 
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Great results to date.
The expression playing with house money comes to mind. Hamilton as a flexible curriculum is a great option. Congratulations and good luck next week!!
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Update??
rejected cornell, dartmouth, tufts, (also harvard and yale which i didnât list here)
waitlisted brown
accepted stanford!
I literally donât know where to go. I love Amherst and Stanford so much
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Wonderful results!
In terms of deciding, tell us what attracted you to Amherst and Stanford?
This Hamilton professor appears to prefer the intellectual atmospheres at the liberal arts colleges at which he has taught to that of Stanford (while nonetheless recognizing the equivalent intelligence of Stanford students):
Meet the New Faculty: Jason Cieply, Russian Studies - News - Hamilton College.
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