Possible info Colleges don't Want you to know when applying

Applying to College
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  1. Applying ED is significantly easier than EA or RD.
  2. Yield is the most important statistic to colleges(percent of accepted students that enroll)
  3. Being full pay gives an applicant a significant leg up over everyone else.
  4. The tuition price is negotiable at any non-top 20-40 school
  5. Don’t apply to schools for the sake of applying(only helps the college not yourself)
  6. Interest means everything, at a non top-20, with WASHU being the one top 20 that values it
  7. Being an international applicant who needs aid is 100x times harder than an American on aid
  8. Colleges want applicants with one niche. 2,000 freshman each with one niche makes a more well rounded class than 2,000 that our good at 3-4 niches but not great at one.
  9. Don’t be scared away by the price tag, POTENTIAL cost shouldn’t be a reason to stop someone from applying to a school.
  10. Private Schools can be cheaper than State Schools if you qualify for enough aid.

Feel free to comment your thoughts on these facts or add additional facts below!

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  1. “Interest means everything, at a non top-20”. Um, no. It is very school specific, i.e. Boston U yes, Boston College, no. The school’s website may tell you if they consider demonstrated interest or not. I sat in on a session last week with my D and an admissions rep from Delaware. They don’t consider it.
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Yield is important for some colleges. WashU and Tufts come ti mind. But I doubt it is the most important statistic for any college.

For need-aware unis, it really depends on the college. And for need-blind colleges, it is not true at all.

Semantics, but the tuition is not negotiable; aid may be negotiable.

Hyperbolic. 2-3x is more accurate overall. Slightly higher for less selective colleges.

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Do you have a source for this fact?

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Here’s a source that agrees:

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That article is primarily about selective universities. The OP did not limit his statement to selective universities. The article also doesn’t state that it is the most important factor, just that is one factor

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Actually, it does not. From the link, (emphasis mine)

In the college admissions process, “yield” is an important topic.

And I agree - it is an important topic.

Contrast with the OP’s claim (again, emphasis mine):

Yield is the most important statistic

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Okay. How would you phrase the issue?

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Again…maybe this is semantics. At most places it’s not easier to apply ED. But some colleges accept a somewhat higher percentage of ED applicants than RD applicants (although at many places these ED acceptances include developmental admits, recruited athletes, legacies).

The actual application process ED is the same at most places.

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For many students, estimated COA is available by running the schools’ net price calculators…this should be done prior to applying.

If estimated COA looks to be unaffordable, one might consider not applying, unless there are large merit scholarships that the applicant could compete for (which makes the school a reach regardless of academic strength).

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Clickbait headline for a post that is a mish-mash of opinions, over-statements, the obvious, and some things that are simply wrong with a few well-known pieces of good advice, but none that “colleges don’t want you to know”.

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In other words, just another day on College Confidential. :rofl:

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So, how would you phrase the issue?

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Actually as general rules, they’re pretty good. Overstatement in some cases? Sure. But they make the point. And why quibble?

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If I were the OP? First, by stating that the bullet points are my opinions. Second by avoiding hyperbole.

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For my son, the COA generated by multiple university NPCs bore no resemblence to the actual COA generated for athletic early reads. In some cases they were off by as much as 40% to his detriment.

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More criticism of the OP. Hasn’t the poor guy been beaten up enough already?

I’m asking how you would phrase the issue of yield since you seem to think it’s not that important.

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I agree with @Bill_Marsh that the original post is “pretty good”, “overstated”, and “makes the point”.

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No. The OP is doing a disservice to the impressionable young minds who come to College Confidential for advice by starting a clickbait thread espousing “facts” when they are simply opinions.

And given that the OP has made errors in verifiable facts on other threads, their opinion becomes that much more suspect. In my opinion.

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Agree that using the word “facts” in the thread title is a bit more than just an overstatement.

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