Admittedly,we made our list of colleges nearly a year ago, but the college stats on College Board have changed drastically since then…for example, when we first started looking, MoHo acceptance rate was 47% and has dropped to 55%, Clark University was 62% but has risen to 54%, Ithaca College rose from 67% to 59%…those are just examples. Does this happen every year?
I’m confused by your reporting? How can an acceptance rate rise from 62% to 54%? Wouldn’t it decline?
@NePatsGirl Why am I understanding this backwards? Hasn’t MoHo’s acceptance rate risen, Clarks and Ithaca fallen
Maybe OP is talking about selectivity? idk
It might be less confusing to say selectivity has fallen or risen. Kenyon’s selectivity has risen dramatically in the past 2 years.
Sewanee had a substantial increase in applications this year. Will selectivity increase as well? That depends on how confident they are in achieving their expected yield.
I’m taking the acceptance rates off CollegeBoard. Sorry for the confusion.
Your data isn’t causing confusion, your reporting is. How can 62% rise to a 54%? It didn’t, it declined.
How many people do we need to comment on how her wording was inversed? We all get the idea, drop it and get on with the discussion.
Acceptance rates change so dramatically every year for a number of reasons. The number of applications the college receives that year is probably the most influential factor that affects acceptance rate. The number of available spots i n the freshman class generally doesn’t change much from year to year, which means that selectivity will naturally increase when the number of applications increases. A college can increase the number of apps they receive by moving up on USNWR, spending more resources on advertising, or even for succeeding in research or athletics. These factors explain why admission rates are such fluid numbers.
Just merely increasing the number of apps colleges receive will not move them up on USNWR. It is an unfortunate misconception. The acceptance rate only accounts for 1.25% of the methodology. It does not move the needle.
^ Increasing the number of apps will not move them up on the list, but moving up on the list may increase the number of apps a college receives, as it is considered “more prestigious” than before. Obviously, a more dramatic shift will cause a more dramatic rise in applications, and vice versa. If it only moves up one or two spots, however, a significant change is very unlikely (unless there are other factors involved that would cause the change.)