<p>The lowest acceptance rates are to Julliard School of Music and Curtis Institute of Music, which during certain years can be as low as 2-3%, and on certain instruments, can be 0%.</p>
<p>dang I didn't realize Wharton was as hard to get into as Harvard. i guess that's why I got rejected lol</p>
<p>trackstar, try for an MBA like I am planning on :)</p>
<p>what's the admit rate?</p>
<p>since we're talking about acceptance rates, i just wanted to mention the west coast claremont consortium, they've experienced lower acceptance rates as a result of an ever growing interests in LAC's. Both Pomona and CMC saw about 16% each, and their geeky friend Mudd was a bit lower (i'm not sure on the exact figure). But what makes these places even more selective is the admissions process, which admits only on unanimous votes: everyone in the adcom needs to be in favor, if even one says nay, ur out, or on the waitlist. This is unlike most other institutions.</p>
<p>Acceptance rate means nothing.</p>
<p>Columbia is in NYC - a city of 9,000,000. Dartmouth is in Hanover, a city of like 650 (jk, but its low). </p>
<p>Dartmouth still enrolls stronger students than Columbia. Its not the number of applicants - its the number of top students who choose to enroll that matters. </p>
<p>For example, look at Fraternity rush. Would you rather have 100 kids total with only 20 cool kids rush your fraternity, or 60 kids total with 30 cool kids. Same logic pretty much.</p>
<p>sup .</p>
<p>Thoughtprocess----</p>
<p>What do you mean by "Dartmouth enrolls stronger students than Columbia"?
First of all, this definitely isn't true. Columbia students are the cream of the crop--- right up there with HYP kids. The only reason why Columbia's median SAT score is lower than HYP is because Columbia notoriously places less emphasis on it. </p>
<p>Second of all--- what does the size of the city have to do with admissions rates? Is the city applying to college? Columbia College had a 8.9% acceptance rate of over 20,000 applicants. I think that is pretty darn prestigious. It means ~19,000 got rejected. Dartmouth, as a university, is nowhere as competitive. Look at HLS, YLS, SLS acceptances. Columbia College places more than any other Ivy except for HYP. Columbia College is also smaller than Dartmouth and all the other Ivies as well. The fact of the matter is, if Columbia College were ranked by itself, it would be #4-5 on USNews.</p>
<p>I'd say Columbia College is as competitive as Dartmouth, more or less. If you look at average SATs and class rank (two major indices in determining competitiveness), you'll see there's no significant difference for anyone to claim either is way more competitive than the other...or even more competitive than the other.</p>
<p>Keep in mind USNA and USMA have really tough medical and physical standards for admission.</p>
<p>Yeah, I guess there is no difference between Dartmouth and Columbia students in terms of strength - just a slight difference in SAT scores. Also, Columbia probably weighs SAT's just as much as any other top 10 school. No reason to think otherwise. </p>
<p>However, even though the two schools are equal in strength, Columbia has a much lower acceptance rate because of its location near the largest pool of applicants in the country - NYC.</p>
<p>Either way, Dartmouth places just as well as Columbia, and Dartmouth students are just as strong, the only difference is that more people apply to Columbia - the quality of students enrolled are identical.</p>
<p>@santino</p>
<p>Where did you read that? Are you certain that that is how Pomona's admissions process works?</p>
<p>Base acceptance rate is NOT the whole story. I'll repost here an example I have posted earlier. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Scholars of the college admission process have some genuine disagreements about how to show which college is most "selective," but NO ONE thinks that base acceptance rate is the last word on that subject.</p>
<p>25th percentile SAT scores and percent in top 10% are probably among the best indicators of selectivity, as its abstract popularity and applicants with no chance, and looks at the qualifications of those who enroll. It matters more who actually goes to the college than who got in and turned it down. These are the kids you (if you enroll) will be learning from and among over the four years, and the quality of the freshman class indicates (who is selected AND enrolls) is much more important than who is just selected.</p>
<p>Like I said before, if 5,000 students who are below average apply for admission because a school is nearby, that doesn't make the school any better. What matters is the students that actually enroll.</p>
<p>Thethoughtprocess,
You have to realize that for everyone who wants to apply to Columbia because it is NYC, there are probably 2 other kids who don't want to go to school in NYC. It works both ways!! This is an important point that people seem to forget.</p>
<p>Personally, I wouldn't want to go to school in a big city.</p>
<p>College Yahoo, Yeah I understand, its just that NYC area is already the biggest in the country, so tons of kids apply by default. Same with NYU.</p>
<p>thethoughtprocess</p>
<p>Tons of kids don't apply to Columbia and NYU as "default" if they live in the NYC area, because there are so many other colleges and universities in the area. </p>
<p>Don't always assume that because you may live near a school, does not mean that you have to apply there. Perfect example: DC. There are many great universities located in DC such as Georgetown and George Washington, but DC public schools are notoriously among the worst in the nation. I'm pretty sure that Georgetown applicants are very strong and that there are not that many that just applied there because they live near it. So don't assume the same about Columbia.</p>
<p>DanE,</p>
<p>First, Columbia is the only Ivy in NYC - ie the best academic school in the biggest city in America. I realize Georgetown is a strong school, but its not one of the best like Columbia. </p>
<p>
[quote]
but DC public schools are notoriously among the worst in the nation.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>NYC has some bad public schools, its also home to tons of prep schools and extremely strong magnet programs. </p>
<p>You also realize that NYC is about 16 times bigger than DC, right?</p>
<p>"Like I said before, if 5,000 students who are below average apply for admission because a school is nearby, that doesn't make the school any better. What matters is the students that actually enroll."</p>
<p>-:)</p>