Colby is poised to have the lowest acceptance rate of any LAC this year

[Anonymous]

Colby gets twice as many applications as Bowdoin. Is that because Colby is so much more in demand or because it is a much better school? NOPE. It is because Colby doesn't have an application fee. No supplemental essays and test optional, too.
Just hit send on your Common App. Makes it really, really easy for them to lower their acceptance rate. And while that won't push them up in the USNWR rankings anymore, there are plenty of people out there (and on here) that think acceptance rate is important. When we visited Colby a few years ago they could not stop talking about their 9% acceptance rate (they must have said it ten times and it was written on the whiteboard behind the AO presenting for the info session) as they pushed ED applications. I'm not saying it isn't a good school - it is. But they have played the game well!

[Anonymous]

Colby is the northeastern of LACs and another example of why acceptance rates don’t tell us much. Caliber of the applicants and enrolled students are the actually important measures.

[Anonymous]

Ridiculously overrated school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Colby is the northeastern of LACs and another example of why acceptance rates don’t tell us much. Caliber of the applicants and enrolled students are the actually important measures.

+100. Better yet, look at alumni outcomes and notable alumni in specific industries and fields. Quality of faculty.

[Anonymous]

My son was waitlisted at Colby. He applied because the school was a good fit for him. He did not apply to Bowdoin or Middlebury. He's yet another of the high stats kids you read about here with 35 ACT, 4.0 unweighted, etc.

[Anonymous]

I love Colby although my DS did not apply. Any school with its own lake campus is wonderful in my book. Now the weather is something else entirely...

[Anonymous]

Colby is in the same category as Northeastern - manipulating the ED system to juice their acceptance rate. Although at least Northeastern is up front about their tactics. Colby tries to hide behind its facade. I couldn’t see sending my kid to a place that is intellectually dishonest and one that brags about fake low acceptance rates.

[Anonymous]

Could people discuss how shady this is without claiming that Colby sucks? I know some kids who had a really good experience there? (My warm-weather kids weren't interested, but Colby's dubious approach to admissions doesn't mean the professors and students are all duds)

[Anonymous]

so it’s all about no app fee? wes amd midd have no supps and don’t get these numbers. could they be fudging numbers?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:so it’s all about no app fee? wes amd midd have no supps and don’t get these numbers. could they be fudging numbers?

Also, Hamilton, Grinnell, Colgate have no supps as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:so it’s all about no app fee? wes amd midd have no supps and don’t get these numbers. could they be fudging numbers?

Also, Hamilton, Grinnell, Colgate have no supps as well.

As far as I can tell, none of these schools do tons of marketing to prospective students, nor do they push people to apply ED or spend a lot of time talking about their acceptance rates (or at least Wesleyan and Midd don’t, the two we’ve toured).

Sounds like the application fee is just one element of Colby’s game.

[Anonymous]

Never heard of it.

It must be the Northeastern of the LACs.

[Anonymous]

First, those saying Colby is an "over-rated school", that is BS, it is as relatively fine as any in the Nescac. It has an excellent faculty as all Nescacs do, and a top record of professional and grad school success.

Second, acceptance rate is not included in the USN rankings, so this has nothing to do with Colby "gaming" anything.

Third, and most importantly, a top college decides to make an expensive and difficult process a little cheaper and easier on you and your kids, and you are effing complaining about it.

Unbelievable. You people are unbelievable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:so it’s all about no app fee? wes amd midd have no supps and don’t get these numbers. could they be fudging numbers?

Also, Hamilton, Grinnell, Colgate have no supps as well.

As far as I can tell, none of these schools do tons of marketing to prospective students, nor do they push people to apply ED or spend a lot of time talking about their acceptance rates (or at least Wesleyan and Midd don’t, the two we’ve toured).

Sounds like the application fee is just one element of Colby’s game.

Grinnell has both no supps, no fee.

I agree the Colby's game. but for last several years, Colby's yields were pretty good. Last year was around 54%.
I think the high yield means a lot. If people apply only for no fee and no supps, the yield shouldn't be this high comparing with other SLACs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:so it’s all about no app fee? wes amd midd have no supps and don’t get these numbers. could they be fudging numbers?

Also, Hamilton, Grinnell, Colgate have no supps as well.

As far as I can tell, none of these schools do tons of marketing to prospective students, nor do they push people to apply ED or spend a lot of time talking about their acceptance rates (or at least Wesleyan and Midd don’t, the two we’ve toured).

Sounds like the application fee is just one element of Colby’s game.

Grinnell has both no supps, no fee.

I agree the Colby's game. but for last several years, Colby's yields were pretty good. Last year was around 54%.
I think the high yield means a lot. If people apply only for no fee and no supps, the yield shouldn't be this high comparing with other SLACs.

I think that when a kid applies to groups of SLACs, Colby will almost never be the first choice. I could see them being ahead of Bates or St Lawrence, but I could never see them getting a kid who also got into Williams/Mid/Bowdoin and I can't see a kid who applies to Colby applying to those schools as well.