True or false? It is harder than ever to get accepted to college.
Answer?
False! In fact, for the vast majority of colleges, the opposite is true. The illusion of college selectivity is the basis for much stress and anxiety for both students and parents. Being informed about current trends can help to demystify the college admissions process and give students and parents a more enjoyable admissions experience.
So why all the stress?
One reason is that everyone is applying to the same short list of schools. While most colleges accept the majority of their applicants, the most selective schools are getting even more selective. We see headlines like “Stanford’s Acceptance Rate Drops to 3.68%” and we assume that most other colleges are following suit.
How College Rankings Changed The Game
One reason people are applying to the same short list of schools is the popularity of college rankings. It is interesting to hear from admissions professionals who have worked before, during, and after the rise in college rankings, specifically the rise of the US News and World Report Ranking. Listen to this perspective from my friend Peter Van Buskirk who was working in the admissions department when the first US News and World Report Rankings came out in 1983. He emphasizes the fact that initially, the idea of ranking colleges was scoffed at (rightly so), but this soon became the norm. And who benefited from this newly designed system the most? The failing US News and World Report, itself.
US News and World Report made a brilliant marketing move that took advantage of our desire to be more objective about the inherently subjective topic of choosing the best college. By creating a pecking order, our brains can think in numbers and justify spending more money on, let’s say, a school ranked 4th in a particular category, compared to a school ranked 17th.
Students and parents are now heavily relying on the rankings to choose where to apply. More applications typically equals more selectivity, and since most ranking systems use selectivity as a factor in their rankings, it creates a snowball effect, leading to a maniacal popularity contest with the most selective of the selective schools.
“But why am I seeing all these headlines about schools that have 5% acceptance rates?”
The most selective colleges are getting even more selective–it is true. These are the colleges that get all the headlines. But do you know how many we are talking about? Out of the 2,269 degree-granting 4-year institutions, only about 32 accept 10% of their applicants or less. All this buzz for about 30 colleges. So if you are ONLY applying to schools that have a 10% acceptance rate, you should be stressed; however, for the vast majority of colleges, it is actually getting easier to be accepted.
Reality Check
In 2023, about 85% of 4-year colleges accept the majority of their applicants. That’s right, the vast majority of colleges accept more than half of the students that apply! This is important because many people have a fear that no one will accept them. College Navigator is a great tool to easily navigate your search and find schools based on selectivity or several different factors.
A Buyers Market
It is not prospective students and parents who should be sweating, it’s the colleges. Admissions directors across the country are feeling the pressure to fill the seats at their colleges. According to the 2023 Survey of College and University Admissions Directors by Inside Higher Ed, only 40% of colleges met their new student enrollment targets in 2023. In other words, it’s a buyer’s market (albeit, an expensive one), but you won’t hear that in the loads of college advertisements you’ll get when you or your kids are 17-18.
What to Do About It?
When you are looking for colleges, make sure you apply to some schools where your GPA and test scores are above average for that college. Don’t get tricked into applying only to highly selective schools where the admissions decisions are unpredictable at best. If you are applying to six colleges, at least two of the colleges should be schools where your GPA and test scores are above or on par with the school averages. Most importantly, don’t let the subjective and typically unhelpful rankings systems determine your application list. Take control of the process and make sure you will have good options when it’s time to decide.
