<p>An interesting read with many parallels to the prep school scene. One marked difference seems to be that (at least for the students cited in the article) they get into over half of the schools to which they apply. </p>
<p>It’s a chicken and egg thing. Admissions rates are depressed by the rising number of applicants. A good candidate who fits the school is still a good candidate who fits the school no matter the admissions rate. I would like very much to think that the schools that denied my son did so because he would not have thrived there and the waitlists meant that he would have thrived there but other candidates fit their needs better for this year. This presumes that the admissions people know what they are doing. I continue to think that they do, but I’m sure that sometimes mistakes are made or they have to do things that they don’t want to simply because of space and FA constraints that they have no control over.</p>
<p>Back to the article…Harvard’s Dean of Admissions stated that he wanted to see a Harvard application on the kitchen table of every student who was qualified. My question to him is, what makes a student qualified to attend Harvard? (Or any other school?) That is the million dollar question.</p>
<p>Yep - I thought the same thing - what “defines” a Harvard student. Funny - it’s harder to get into Harvard than to get out of it.</p>
<p>I do think the parallels are striking - with discussion boards, ranking systems and common apps artificially increasing the number of multiple applications and thus depressing admissions percentages make schools seem even more “exclusive” and further fueling the vicious cycle. </p>
<p>And the depth of despair from parents and students who are caught in that cycle who take it as a personal failure.</p>
<p>Perhaps the fact that this trend is presumably peaking now bodes well (or at least better) for the future.</p>