Admit Rates

Seniors: Forging ahead on Finalizing Your List

Posted on Wed, 09/12/2012 - 11:36

 

Seniors, your ongoing task over the new few weeks should be finalizing the list of the eight to ten schools to which you will apply. You will see and hear a lot in the media and in the hallways of your schools about the low admit rates at many schools. But while many colleges have low admit rates, don't be daunted. There are great colleges out there that are right for you. The average selectivity rate in fall 2010 at four-year colleges and universities was 65.5 percent (Clinedinst, Hurley & Hawkins, 2011).  Keep forging ahead; just make sure your list includes enough schools where you are likely to be admitted. 

 

You can find more information on admit rates (defined on page 248) and on narrowing your list to the eight to ten schools to which you will apply  (Chapter 10, page 155) in our book, College Admission: From Application to Acceptance, Step by Step.

Media Madness

Posted on Tue, 11/15/2011 - 20:44

A recent Opinion piece in the New York Times titled Athletes Are The Problem, begins:  "Like it or not, 40 percent of the class at most top colleges are reserved for "hooked" kids…" This is the kind of media madness that students and parents find so discouraging. For example, we question much of the data in the piece. Regardless, the implicit message is that if you want your student to have a competitive advantage with athletes -- legacies, minorities, fill-in-the-blank -- then you had better find your own ace in the hole and hire a private counselor.  But applying to college is not about gaming the system. Instead, let's focus the public conversation where it can be most helpful -- on the best way for students to move through the process in a healthy and productive way.  One way to start? Ignore the hysterical headlines.