If you graduated college in the 90s/00s which schools shocked you with their change in status/competiveness?

[Anonymous]

What's the point?

MIT was mostly a vocational school into the 50s

Most shocking?

[Anonymous]

Tulane, UMiami, Clemson, Auburn

[Anonymous]

All of the following were schools for below average students at my private high school:

USC
UC Irvine
UC Santa Barbara
Pitzer
BU
NYU

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m surprised everyone is saying UF. I graduated from one of the top hs in FL in the early 2000s. Many of my peers chose UF over Ivy League even back then. It was free! And then they chose more prestigious places for grad school. I had very high stats and it wasn’t my safety school.

Yes, and now kids pick it over Ivy League fairly systematically due to a mix of prestige and incredibly low cost. People here have a strong anti-Florida bias.

[Anonymous]

Everything was easier including Ivies back in the day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Michigan.

I graduated college in early 2000s

I had a 3.8, 2 AP classes, 32 ACT, was on one varsity sport (not captain). That’s it. I was in-state, but still. No way would I get in today.

Similar story, but UVA. Had a 3.75, 1390 SAT, had a number of ECs. But 100% not get into UVA with that profile now.

But take that with a grain of salt. There has been massive high school grade inflation and a recentering upward of standardized test scores. Plus, test optional is now an option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m surprised everyone is saying UF. I graduated from one of the top hs in FL in the early 2000s. Many of my peers chose UF over Ivy League even back then. It was free! And then they chose more prestigious places for grad school. I had very high stats and it wasn’t my safety school.

Yes, and now kids pick it over Ivy League fairly systematically due to a mix of prestige and incredibly low cost. People here have a strong anti-Florida bias.

Cheap doesn’t mean good, it’s U of online learning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oberlin used to be the top LAC in the midwest. I was shocked to see the change.

Compared to the perception of Oberlin I had in the 1990s, it has indeed seemed to fall off dramatically.

OP here -- wow, had to look at the new rankings after seeing this comment. No idea this happened.

[Anonymous]

Virginia Tech.

I had a 3.5 1250 SAT (1310 now) and VERY few ECs. I moved a lot and didn't play sports.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Northeastern
Vanderbilt
Any of the SEC schools for OOS kids
NYU
USC (when I took the SATs they were doing the stuff Chicago does now- sending the biggest and most mailings of anyone and generally acting desperate)

Nope. Vanderbilt has been competitive and difficult to get into for a long time.

Agree, that Vanderbilt is a different situation, and has always been a top ranked and prestigious school, but it is dramatically harder now vs 20-30 years ago.

[Anonymous]

Tulane, Vanderbilt, NYU, Northeastern

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Title pretty much sums it up, but when you first started paying attention to college rankings as a parent did you have any moments of shock when once a safety (for many) is now a reach (for many)…off the top of my head Northeastern and UofF come to mind.

Any others?

I did not. Don't recall even paying attention to acceptance rates when I went school.

[Anonymous]

Graduated in 1988

NYU
BU
Northeastern
Emory
Colby

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:More selective: SEC schools, Indiana, The Ohio State. Privates-Vandy, Holy Cross, Wake, Notre Dame, USC.

Yes to the SEC trend

[Anonymous]

NYU and Lehigh. These were safeties for at least the top 40% of my class (competitive private in central NJ.) Our high school didn't rank, but the kid who was probably "last" in the class went to Elon.