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[quote]
At Hopkins, binding early applications were up 10 percent to a record 1,155 and regular applications are tracking 13 percent ahead of last year. After an unusual number of students accepted admission last year, Hopkins will aim for a slightly smaller class in 2010. With fewer spots for many more applicants, the university's acceptance rate is likely to decline from about 27 percent to 17 percent or 18 percent, [director of undergraduate admissions] Latting said.</p>
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<p>"Certainly, more is better in the sense that having more talent to choose from is always better," Latting said. "But there's a funny kind of downside when the acceptance rate falls past a certain point. I'm not certain we're there yet. But it can become frustrating when we run across a great kid and we simply can't offer admission."
<p>It’s not speculation. Dean Latting was officially quoted for the Baltimore Sun article and he would not state something that is speculation. Our applicant pool is way up and therefore our admit rate will drop significantly this year.</p>
<p>how does hopkins calculate expected yield from a given applicant pool? that seems like the trickiest part of determining how many students to admit. </p>
<p>so, if we guess the applicant pool for 2010 is ~18210 (up a little under 13% from last year) and the expected class size is 1200 (slightly under the 1250 due to to large c/o 2013) then expected yield is around 38%. but that’s working backwards given expected admit rate and size of applicant pool…</p>
<p>is there a common method of determining yield for colleges in general? seems like guesswork to me.</p>
<p>Every school determines yield on their own. Some companies have tried to create yield predictor models, but most top level schools use their own internal formulas in determining yielf.</p>
<p>At Hopkins we have worked for numerous years with an Applied Mathematics and Statistics faculty member in creating our yield model. The way this yield model works though is confidential and not something we discuss.</p>
<p>“The JHU stereotype”
I can only assume that your comment is directed at the JHU Admissions Office and you are trying to state that we are confidential about everything we do. And if that is your conclusion, I guess I can only say “to each their own.”</p>
<p>I however would greatly disagree and say that for a highly selective school we are much more transparent than many of our peers. But I guess that is just my opinion. I would love for you to let me know what schools out there have published every detail with how their yield models operate.</p>
<p>(Disclaimer: Duke undergrad, 2000; JHU Med School, 2004; residency at JH Hospital, 2004-2007)</p>
<p>Daniel, my statement above is not really a criticism. </p>
<p>As you are in admissions, and are personally known, your contribution to this board is highly valued, and unique. Frankly, getting anything out most people at JHU is like pulling teeth out of a lion - it can be done, but you’re going to pay for it. </p>
<p>As you well know, yield is used in all aspects of JHU’s fiscal planning for each coming year. Given the practical importance of yield, why should JHU NOT publish their yield number algorithms?</p>
<p>Edited to add: bluntly, does JHU practice “yield protection” in admissions?</p>
<p>That is your opinion and maybe even your experience with the Med School and Hospital. It is not my opinion and it is not my experience with all the people I work with on a daily basis on the Homewood campus. If it were true then the work I do communicating with prospective students and applicants through a variety of social media tools would never be allowed. I think many students who have applied to Hopkins in the past few years would agree that we have one of the most accessible admissions teams for a highly selective school.</p>
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<p>Did the Colonel reveal KFC’s chicken receipe? Does Coke share with Pepsi their soft drink formulas? When Billy Beane was creating his Sabermetrics for analyzing potential MLB players did he let all the other teams know of the system? </p>
<p>The intricacies of what constitutes a University’s yield model is not something that is public knowledge. Can you name one school that actually goes into explicit detail about how they compute predicted yeild? Yield models are internal predictions of how a particular class will enroll at a particular school based on historical data and present condictions. In many ways, it is proprietary information. Sharing our predictive practices with our peers let alone the public is not a smart business practice. </p>
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<p>No we don’t. Six years of evaluating decisions at Hopkins under Dean Latting and I can firmly state that “yield protection” has never been a topic of discussion.</p>
<p>I will second your assertion on admin accessability Daniel. From Summer University through the Undergrad ED/RD process, on every visit to the campus we were well received by all the admissions personnel. No question was ever deemed too trivial or absurd to be handled professionally or with the utmost courtesy.</p>
<p>JHU Admissions do a great job all around, especially disseminating information. Now, if we can get the Graduate Affairs Office (Shriver 28) at Krieger & Whiting to stop reacting as though they are the CIA when asked to answer simple questions.</p>
<p>I have to say, you guys are much more accessible than other Universities. No disrespect to others, but I e-mailed another University for a question 3 weeks ago and never received a response whereas JHU responded to my questions several times.</p>
<p>Like many applicants, I’m applying RD to 8 schools and am obsessed with checking CC, the school blogs, admission websites, and anything that might give me some hints of my app status other than the app numbers. While I so far haven’t succeeded in getting any hints at all, JH provides the best interaction betn admissions & the applicants. The info provided is transparent to the greatest extent possible, responsive, and, most important for me, personal and sincere.</p>