<p>I am passing along something that was handed out in one of my classes in the College Admissions Counseling certificate program at UCLA. It was written by a guidance counselor at a high school in New Jersey after he became tired of parents and students panicking about their chances of getting into college. I think it is a good reality check for both parents and children - sure, there are some very selective colleges out there, but there are also plenty of excellent schools that aren't as cut-throat when it comes to admissions. Wise college shoppers will make sure they develop a list that takes both facts into account.</p>
<p>Carolyn, if you were to upgrade the original version, one nice addendum would be represented by the percentage of students who are accepted at their first or second choices. </p>
<p>That said, how much fun is it to use positive statistics? I prefer to scrutinize the nerve-wracking statistics at the Ivies. The fact that 8 schools attract well over 150,000 applicants for about 23,000 admissions' spots is telling. </p>
<p>Should the Ivy League borrow a page from the NFL and consider expansion? I am sure that plenty of WIL (Wannabe-Ivy-League) would apply! On the other hand, a sure way to increase the academic prestige would be to kick -or punt- a couple of them to another football league.</p>
<p>PS In 2002-2003, there were 631 Public 4-year institutions, 1,835 Private 4-year institutions, 1,081 Public 2-year institutions, and 621 Private 2-year institutions. The total is thus close to 4,200 colleges and universities.</p>
<p>hehehe........so would you develop an admission playoff such that all those who were deemed in the mix had a second chance to get the assignment.......like the NFL does??? Or you could use the baseball model.</p>
<p>That was fascinating. Thank you for posting it.</p>
<p>For those who didn't click on the link (which leads to a pdf), the bottom line is that virtually anyone in the US who wants to can go to college.</p>
<p>There are 1600 community colleges in the US, virtually all of which are open admission meaning that anyone with a h.s. diploma is admitted.</p>
<p>There are about 200 4-year colleges that admit 100% of students who apply. A few hundred more admit 95% of applicants.</p>
<p>Only about 135 of the 2,000 4-year colleges admit fewer than 50% of applicants. Only 50 colleges admit fewer than 50% of applicants AND have freshmen SAT averages of 1250 or more.</p>
<p>Consequently, there's virtually no cause for people to be posting on CC wondering if they have any chance of getting to college.</p>
<p>Are there 150,000 applicants? or 150,000 applications? (I honestly don't know.)</p>
<p>I do know that the number of international applicants drops off majorly once one gets past HYPS.</p>
<p>"Are there 150,000 applicants? or 150,000 applications? (I honestly don't know.)"</p>
<p>It's a bit of semantics, but the point is well noted. Inasmuch as an applicant is anyone who fills an application, the terms should be interchangeable. However, Mini is correct that we "should" try to figure out the number of unique applications. Looking at the admissions' list patterns on CC (which often looks like it was lifted from the USNews first page), it is undeniable that the number of unique applicants is much, much lower in the RD rounds.</p>
<p>If the average applicant has 3-4 Ivy applications, we might only have 50,000 applicants for the 23,000 places.</p>
<p>Yes, but that does not make the admission easier or change the selectivity statistics ...at individual schools. Except for a bit of Tufts' Syndrome, it only impacts the yield.</p>
<p>Quite right. If you put the entire football league together, all of a sudden it doesn't look that difficult to get in. And the yield for the entire football league, what would it be - 85%? And when they go to the waiting list, they are still going to the same cohort of applicants. (How many folks did Princeton take off the waiting list in 2004? Like 10% of their class? They could have accepted them the first time, but they wouldn't look as "selective" had they done so.) Eliminate the "hail Mary" applicants (non-football league schools will surely have fewer) and the internationals with no chance, and where do you end up - 50% admit rate? 45% admit rate?</p>
<p>(This, by the way, is what Oxford and Cambridge do - first admit to the "league", then get "drafted" by the school. The result is that Oxford and Cambridge look significantly easier to get into than the American football league, when in fact it is likely significantly more difficult.)</p>
<p>Please note: I didn't write this. I'm just passing it on from one of my classes in college admissions counseling. The classes are very interesting, and informative, especially the discussions about how different factors are weighted in admissions. I'll be sharing some of the information on my website as the semester goes on, and I'll try to remember to post here as well.</p>
<p>Try to remember......are you baiting us? We implore you to remember......as we are all taking the class right alongside you. Thanks for the post.</p>
<p>On the other hand....</p>
<p>Just make sure you pay attention to the line about "all the highly qualified students" applying to the "Same list of colleges." :)</p>
<p>Carolyn,</p>
<p>Thanks for two very interesting links!!! (Life is just a rollercoaster ride, dontcha think?)</p>
<p>LOL! Well, it's only a rollercoaster ride until you are accepted somewhere. Always nice to be seat-belted in with a few safe bets in the meantime.</p>
<p>don't forget the motion sickness bag.......</p>
<p>another excellent article about this is a chapter from the book "Admission Matters" posted online by the publisher. See <a href="http://media.wiley.com/product_data/excerpt/78/07879796/0787979678.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://media.wiley.com/product_data/excerpt/78/07879796/0787979678.pdf</a></p>