<p>the old thread from 2006 titled "yale more selective than harvard" was bumped up a few days ago, and reappeared here on this site. a poster suggested starting a new thread rather than tagging onto the old 2006 thread (which is now locked). so here's the new thread.</p>
<p>btw, the old 2006 thread had a bunch of posts by byerly, who was a relentless promoter of harvard, and would brook no discussion of the worth of any other university. his comments were pretty extreme. </p>
<p>"most selective" means something different than "lowest admit rate." if all the 5 year olds in the country applied to a college, that would lower its admit rate because its applicant pool would be larger. but it wouldn't make it "more selective" in the sense that the term is used in college admissions talk.</p>
<p>here's how USNWR defines selectivity: they factor in the admissions test scores of all enrollees who took the Critical Reading and Math portions of the SAT and the Composite ACT score (50 percent of selectivity score); the proportion of enrolled freshmen who graduated in the top 10 percent of their high school class (40 percent); and the acceptance rate, or the ratio of students admitted to applicants (10 percent).</p>
<p>note that their last criterion is what we call the "admit rate." they accord it only 10 percent weight in determining "selectivity." the selectivity inquiry focuses on standardized test scores and grades. as it should, i think.</p>
<p>and in the last 2 years (2010 and 2011), Yale ranked #1 in selectivity. and in both years, Harvard, Princeton, MIT and Columbia tied for 2nd place.</p>