<p>
[quote]
I don't think a perfect selectivity ranking can be created (or rather, if it could it would become instantly irrelevant as college admissions massaged their numbers to change their ranking).
[/quote]
One of the main points about that the NBER ranking that you highlight is that it is not easily massaged, the big problem with USNews. Compare ranks of Wash U and Duke. Both are overranked in USNEWs and finish much farther down in the NBER methodology.</p>
<p>IIT is the most selective institution in the world because it is in a nation (INDIA) of over 1 billion people, very affordable, and no other engineering schools that come close. That's the reason also that the entrance exam is so difficult and competitive.</p>
<p>If IIT was on U.S. soil at U.S. prices would the acceptance rate be 1.75%</p>
<p>gianevve: as pointed out by a fellow CCer, we're not debating which college is the best overall. we're only talking about the most-selective; clearly, IIT is the most selective in the world. the empirical evidence proves this argument.</p>
<p>Is admission to IIT just based upon placement examinations? If so, it seems that, even if it is more "selective", for a lot of us it would be much easier to get into: you could be admitted without having to assemble the "perfect" resume of extracurricular activities or spend months perfecting an application essay. Although I understand it makes no sense from a policy perspective, for my own benefit I would be very happy if US admissions depended entirely upon test scores.</p>
<p>simple answer: no. Why do they have to use ED to secure their yield?</p>
<p>Mrognlie
There is one entrance exam for IIT; that's it; no sports, music, community service, Intel awards, recommendation letters, or literary-award-style essays.</p>
<p>It is a top-notch school for engineering, but I don't think you can rightfully compare MIT in the U.S. with IIT in India. Over here, engg. students have a plethora of schools to apply to.</p>
<p>"There is one entrance exam for IIT; that's it; no sports, music, community service, Intel awards, recommendation letters, or literary-award-style essays."</p>
<p>Id add no consideration for grades,academics,moral qualities,or anything else,except for that 1 exam,which is really really tough.</p>
<p>China, Taiwan, Japna, & South Korea, their application system are only depends on one huge entrance exam. If you count the selectivity as this.
China's colleges (Bejing University and Ching Hua University) should be most
selective. China has 1.4B people. All applicants they take Bejing & Ching Hua as #1 Choice. Besides, I don't think there are any international students apply to IIT at all. Ivies, MIT, Cal-tech, UCB, Standford still much
better than "IIT".</p>
<p>Princeton is without a doubt one of the best and most selective colleges in the world</p>
<p>If college application system only depends on one big entrance exam. The students are trained as an exam. taking machine. They usually have a lot of different skills to get a very high scores. But most of them from this kind of system lack of leadership and creativity. I did not mean all of them, but at least most of them. If you look into said their engineering schools, I think most of the best scholars must be from schools here.</p>
<p><<i prefer="" the="" explanation="" of="" 6="" ivies="" who="" support="" ed.="">></i></p><i prefer="" the="" explanation="" of="" 6="" ivies="" who="" support="" ed.="">
<p>No doubt. And when the ivies change their minds, there you'll be, right behind them.</p>
</i>
<p>tokaicarbon, it's interesting how you're sitting on your own Cloud Nine, thinking that IIT isn't a reputable institution. There are many IIT graduates who have been successful in the US, including the founder of Exodus, for example. It's interesting how you discredit IIT when yourself aren't a graduate of the institution and how your praise other Asian nations' universities. Even if we went by your population argument, India has the highest population in the world currently.</p>
<p>Empirically, you are proven wrong. IIT has the lowest acceptance rate in the world at 1.75%. Unless you have evidence, you have no warrant to make a claim that "IIT sucks." This thread talks about the most selective colleges, and clearly Stanford, MIT, and the other Ivies accept more than 5% each. It's simple mathematics...1.75 is less than 5. You cannot deny that IIT is the most selective college, in the aspect of its acceptance rate.</p>
<p>Even asking whether Pton is the most selective school is a false and misleading statement.</p>
<p>If being "selective" solely depends on acceptance rate, then IIT is the most selective. However, Mediterranean, you can't simply say that someone has been "empirically proven wrong" because of this: other people have different criteria for selectivity. For instance, another, probably better criterion would be: "who admits the most capable and talented student body?"</p>
<p>I don't know if IIT would be more selective or less selective than American schools by this standard. Certainly, IIT, by failing to perform a holistic evaluation of its applicants, admits a student body that is less capable than would otherwise be possible; if many admits score high on an admissions exams (possibly as flukes), but have no other accomplishments, they're going to diminish the overall quality of the institution. Additionally, IIT's applicant pool might not be as strong as those seeking placement at American universities (of course, it might also be stronger; the point is that nobody knows).</p>
<p>From an ironic, personal point of view, I enjoy the idea of admissions being completely dependent upon exams; it would make my own college candidacy much easier. But it's terrible policy.</p>
<p>Then again, reading the article, there may be something to the "pure meritocracy" that it mentions. Might the idea of a simply transparent, straightforward admissions policy have some value? Is there a point when the details of students' applications become so contrived, the system of legacy and donor admissions so corrupt, and the vagaries of GPA so meaningless, that the best system really is just a test?</p>
<p>An interesting question.</p>
<p>"If many admits score high on an admissions exams (possibly as flukes), but have no other accomplishments, they're going to diminish the overall quality of the institution."</p>
<p>Trust me,the IIT exam is designed in such a way that nobody can score high on a fluke.Only ppl who are either geniuses or have thoroughly grasped scientific concepts can actually ace the exam</p>
<p>I don't want to sound arrogant, but I think most of us (including all the ivy acceptees) would be very unsuitable for getting accepted to top universities in Asia; You have to be willing to give up about 6 years of your life studying for one test, and one test alone. I don't mean just lala studying. I mean studying at least 10 hours a day without doing any extracurricular activity, etc, while paying extremely careful attention to your school rank (Think of it this way. The most studious Asian in your school is nothing compared to top 10% kids in each Asian school. Those elite high schools only get worse.) </p>
<p>So don't diss the IIT, Univ. of Tokyo, Seoul Univ, Univ of Beijing, etc. The schools might not stack up against US schools, but the students are the most 'academically' qualified students in the world. </p>
<p>That kind of fierce cut-throat competition is precisely why my parents brought me to the USA to have 'better' education, and I am quiet glad I got that opportunity.</p>
<p>Bottom line: the demand for a slot at Princeton appears to be the greatest in the U.S.
Ratio: 16,290 applicicants/1,185 slots</p>
<p>
Bottom line: the demand for a slot at Princeton appears to be the greatest in the U.S. Ratio: 16,290 applicicants/1,185 slots
</p>
<p>Bottom line: You're dead wrong</p>
<p>Yale: 19,430 Applicants / 1300 slots
14.95 Applicants per seat</p>
<p>Harvard: 22,750 Applicants / 1640 slots
13.87 Applicants per seat</p>
<p>Princeton: 16,290 Applicants/1,185 slots
13.75 Applicants per seat</p>
<p>Can you do simple math? Or do you continue to spout flawed knowledge and pass it off as fact?</p>
<p>ck your slot counts</p>