So who are those other 90 odd percent?

Applying to College
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<p>Looking at the acceptance rates for some of the ivy league schools, particularly HYP and Columbia, can be pretty depressing. But of course, though the colleges supply statistics of who was accepted, are there any of those who have not been?</p>

<p>Being that acceptance to most of these universities is sought after because of, often, the name alone, I wondered who makes up the bulk of the applicant pool. Certainly, there has to be a portion that has no chance whatsoever (excluding the affirmative action candidates, of course) of being accepted into the college. So, that leads me to my question: who makes up the majority of the 90 or more percent of the students who were declined? Of course many competitive, strong applicants are denied acceptance, but are they really the majority?</p>

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<p>Pretty much any news article on the subject will tell you that 90% of the applicant pool (overall, not just the rejected) can do the work. Then they’ll go on to say that because of this, elite colleges make decisions based on who fills certain gaps in their student body–URM, geographic location, legacy, first chair flutist, etc. Whether these two things are completely true or not, I don’t know. But it makes sense. Application fees cost enough to keep a significant number of idiots from applying, methinks.</p>