Why does Reed have a much higher acceptance rate than other elite LACs?

In a nation with 50 states, the top 50, as measured by the entering qualifications of their students, should be regarded as being either academically elite or, at a minimum, as having elite academic aspects: “The 50 Smartest Colleges in America,” Business Insider.

@rhg3rd : “Most admits and their working family members do [care about admission rates].” Well, doh, but anyone who decides not to apply to Reed because it accepts too many of the brilliant kids who apply is, in my humble opinion, an idiot. But it doesn’t matter because Reed has no problem filling its entering class each year with qualified students who want to be there. Isn’t that what really matters, as opposed to “I got into a school that rejected 90% of its other applicants, nyah, nyah, nyah”?

"It’s higher than USC, Middlebury, Emory, Cooper Union, and Colgate in the same year. These are schools with much higher acceptance rates. "

I meant to say “lower acceptance rates.” Oops.

Measure twice and cut once is the carpenter’s mantra. Read twice and post once is mine – but I often fail. L-)

The [Reed Admissions Blog](http://reedadmission.■■■■■■■■■■) says that there were 5,709 applications for Fall 2016.

For Fall 2013, there were 2,893 applications. So the applicant volume has nearly doubled since then.

Historically, Reed’s applicant pool was typically in the 2,500 to 3,500 range. For the past two years, it has been in the 5,000 to 6,000 range. This is a big change, and it means a new ball game for Reed admissions,

However, Reed has historical strength that appears to be under-recognized. These are schools within SAT tiers, c. 1960:

Amherst
Carleton
Columbia
Harvard
Haverford
Princeton
REED
Rice
Swarthmore
Williams
Yale

Brandeis
Brown
Chicago
Cornell
Dartmouth
Hamilton
JHU
Lehigh
Oberlin
Rochester
Stanford

Antioch
Bowdoin
Duke
Kenyon
Michigan
Middlebury
Northwestern
Penn
Iowa
Tufts
Union
UC-Berkeley
Sewanee

(Link available in the Tufts forum.)