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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

I have no opinion on whether Colby is “overrated” and generally think it’s a crappy way to talk about schools. But a very small school actively soliciting tons of applications then making a big deal about their low acceptance rate doesn’t feel right. Why is it great that they are making applying easier if it just means more kids get rejected? Are they using the increased application access to significantly diversify their student body or welcome more low-income students? If not, it’s hard to see how this is positive for anyone except Colby.

I understand that Colby had diversified greatly over the last few years, and they also made a point about changes to their financial aid.

This article was about a previous president trying to diversify the school, and those efforts have continued: https://www.highereddive.com/news/colby-college-president-oversees-application-spike-amid-focus-on-diversity/405343/

When we visited, I had the sense that administrators were trying to re-steer a ship that had been homogenous for a long time.

Low acceptance happens in almost all SLACs and top universities nowadays. It is new normal, not Colby specific.

https://www.collegekickstart.com/blog/item/class-of-2027-admission-results

But the point is the number of applications Colby is getting—it’s significantly more than any other SLAC on that list. They seem to be encouraging this through a number of methods then bragging about their single-digit acceptance rate. That’s what seems off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of these schools with ultra low acceptance rates are soliciting and getting a lot of (garbage) international applications. This is the dirty secret of admissions and few schools break it out. People would be shocked at what percentage of applications are international now at many schools (think half). A tiny pct of international applicants get in. In some cases domestic applications are not even going up now- the growth is all international. The schools rarely provide this breakdown because it exposes the shambolic nature of the super low acceptance rates. The fact that no one is talking about it shows they are doing a good job distracting us with other explanations like no supplements. INTERNATIONAL is why this is happening!

No. Please don't insert xenophobia into this discussion. Apart from Ivies and associated universities, the number of international applicants at US colleges is low. The reason is that none of them are well-known outside of the USA! The university with the most international applicants is NYU, because so many people have heard of NYC.

Don't use the word "garbage" and "dirty" when referring to foreigners.

Do international applicants apply ED in proportional numbers?

- foreigner.

While OPs comment is a stretch, it is true that at many LACs, international applicants constitute a big percent of overall applicants. Most LACs don't post data about this, but one of Colby's peer LACs does- Colgate.

38% of Colgate applicants were international. Only 3% were admitted. https://www.colgate.edu/admission-aid/apply/first-year-class-profile

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

I have no opinion on whether Colby is “overrated” and generally think it’s a crappy way to talk about schools. But a very small school actively soliciting tons of applications then making a big deal about their low acceptance rate doesn’t feel right. Why is it great that they are making applying easier if it just means more kids get rejected? Are they using the increased application access to significantly diversify their student body or welcome more low-income students? If not, it’s hard to see how this is positive for anyone except Colby.

I understand that Colby had diversified greatly over the last few years, and they also made a point about changes to their financial aid.

This article was about a previous president trying to diversify the school, and those efforts have continued: https://www.highereddive.com/news/colby-college-president-oversees-application-spike-amid-focus-on-diversity/405343/

When we visited, I had the sense that administrators were trying to re-steer a ship that had been homogenous for a long time.

Low acceptance happens in almost all SLACs and top universities nowadays. It is new normal, not Colby specific.

https://www.collegekickstart.com/blog/item/class-of-2027-admission-results

But the point is the number of applications Colby is getting—it’s significantly more than any other SLAC on that list. They seem to be encouraging this through a number of methods then bragging about their single-digit acceptance rate. That’s what seems off.

I think one of the reason is Colby's financial aid. Colby caps $15,000 family contribution for a family income less than $150,000.
I compared NPC with other SLACs, Colby was the least expensive one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A lot of these schools with ultra low acceptance rates are soliciting and getting a lot of (garbage) international applications. This is the dirty secret of admissions and few schools break it out. People would be shocked at what percentage of applications are international now at many schools (think half). A tiny pct of international applicants get in. In some cases domestic applications are not even going up now- the growth is all international. The schools rarely provide this breakdown because it exposes the shambolic nature of the super low acceptance rates. The fact that no one is talking about it shows they are doing a good job distracting us with other explanations like no supplements. INTERNATIONAL is why this is happening!

This is interesting. How do you know that half of their applications are international? Where are these data available?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of these schools with ultra low acceptance rates are soliciting and getting a lot of (garbage) international applications. This is the dirty secret of admissions and few schools break it out. People would be shocked at what percentage of applications are international now at many schools (think half). A tiny pct of international applicants get in. In some cases domestic applications are not even going up now- the growth is all international. The schools rarely provide this breakdown because it exposes the shambolic nature of the super low acceptance rates. The fact that no one is talking about it shows they are doing a good job distracting us with other explanations like no supplements. INTERNATIONAL is why this is happening!

No. Please don't insert xenophobia into this discussion. Apart from Ivies and associated universities, the number of international applicants at US colleges is low. The reason is that none of them are well-known outside of the USA! The university with the most international applicants is NYU, because so many people have heard of NYC.

Don't use the word "garbage" and "dirty" when referring to foreigners.

- foreigner.

While OPs comment is a stretch, it is true that at many LACs, international applicants constitute a big percent of overall applicants. Most LACs don't post data about this, but one of Colby's peer LACs does- Colgate.

38% of Colgate applicants were international. Only 3% were admitted. https://www.colgate.edu/admission-aid/apply/first-year-class-profile

It’s not a stretch at all. International apps have been growing double digits. Domestic have been flattish.

Here Amherst reveals that some 30 percent of applicants for class of 2022 were international. But that was 5 years ago! So it must be much higher now.
https://www.amherst.edu/admission/apply/international/enrollment

My comments were not meant to be xenophobic. I don’t care how many international students apply, more or less the same number will be accepted. When I said garbage I just meant they were very unlikely to be accepted - didn’t mean to be insensitive.

Anyone who has an inside look at what is going on with admissions knows international is THE story when it comes to acceptance rates.

Doesn’t this imply that the so-called enrollment cliff is overstated? If all the smaller, regional colleges and universities can be filled with international students, that would be a great boon for the higher education system.

[Anonymous]

Keep in mind that Colby does not require any supplemental essays or short answer questions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of these schools with ultra low acceptance rates are soliciting and getting a lot of (garbage) international applications. This is the dirty secret of admissions and few schools break it out. People would be shocked at what percentage of applications are international now at many schools (think half). A tiny pct of international applicants get in. In some cases domestic applications are not even going up now- the growth is all international. The schools rarely provide this breakdown because it exposes the shambolic nature of the super low acceptance rates. The fact that no one is talking about it shows they are doing a good job distracting us with other explanations like no supplements. INTERNATIONAL is why this is happening!

No. Please don't insert xenophobia into this discussion. Apart from Ivies and associated universities, the number of international applicants at US colleges is low. The reason is that none of them are well-known outside of the USA! The university with the most international applicants is NYU, because so many people have heard of NYC.

Don't use the word "garbage" and "dirty" when referring to foreigners.

- foreigner.

While OPs comment is a stretch, it is true that at many LACs, international applicants constitute a big percent of overall applicants. Most LACs don't post data about this, but one of Colby's peer LACs does- Colgate.

38% of Colgate applicants were international. Only 3% were admitted. https://www.colgate.edu/admission-aid/apply/first-year-class-profile

It’s not a stretch at all. International apps have been growing double digits. Domestic have been flattish.

Here Amherst reveals that some 30 percent of applicants for class of 2022 were international. But that was 5 years ago! So it must be much higher now.
https://www.amherst.edu/admission/apply/international/enrollment

My comments were not meant to be xenophobic. I don’t care how many international students apply, more or less the same number will be accepted. When I said garbage I just meant they were very unlikely to be accepted - didn’t mean to be insensitive.

Anyone who has an inside look at what is going on with admissions knows international is THE story when it comes to acceptance rates.

Doesn’t this imply that the so-called enrollment cliff is overstated? If all the smaller, regional colleges and universities can be filled with international students, that would be a great boon for the higher education system.

Yup, there is great demand among international students for us schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

I have no opinion on whether Colby is “overrated” and generally think it’s a crappy way to talk about schools. But a very small school actively soliciting tons of applications then making a big deal about their low acceptance rate doesn’t feel right. Why is it great that they are making applying easier if it just means more kids get rejected? Are they using the increased application access to significantly diversify their student body or welcome more low-income students? If not, it’s hard to see how this is positive for anyone except Colby.

I understand that Colby had diversified greatly over the last few years, and they also made a point about changes to their financial aid.

This article was about a previous president trying to diversify the school, and those efforts have continued: https://www.highereddive.com/news/colby-college-president-oversees-application-spike-amid-focus-on-diversity/405343/

When we visited, I had the sense that administrators were trying to re-steer a ship that had been homogenous for a long time.

Low acceptance happens in almost all SLACs and top universities nowadays. It is new normal, not Colby specific.

https://www.collegekickstart.com/blog/item/class-of-2027-admission-results

But the point is the number of applications Colby is getting—it’s significantly more than any other SLAC on that list. They seem to be encouraging this through a number of methods then bragging about their single-digit acceptance rate. That’s what seems off.

I think one of the reason is Colby's financial aid. Colby caps $15,000 family contribution for a family income less than $150,000.
I compared NPC with other SLACs, Colby was the least expensive one.

I just ran it at 225 and the parent contribution was 57k. I guess they want 42k of the next 75k. I'll tell my kids to apply since there is no cost, but we could never afford that

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have no opinion on whether Colby is “overrated” and generally think it’s a crappy way to talk about schools. But a very small school actively soliciting tons of applications then making a big deal about their low acceptance rate doesn’t feel right.

Where are they "making a big deal of it?"

Why is it great that they are making applying easier if it just means more kids get rejected? Are they using the increased application access to significantly diversify their student body or welcome more low-income students? If not, it’s hard to see how this is positive for anyone except Colby.

Because this process will allow Colby to have applicants they wouldn't otherwise get, which is a good thing for them, and allows other kids to apply without risk if they are uncertain about Colby, which is good for them.

I see no negative at all, except maybe it makes it harder for kids with bubble stats who want to attend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:But the point is the number of applications Colby is getting—it’s significantly more than any other SLAC on that list. They seem to be encouraging this through a number of methods then bragging about their single-digit acceptance rate. That’s what seems off.

They "seem to be bragging"?

Where?

They haven't even posted a CDS in 6 years or so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

I have no opinion on whether Colby is “overrated” and generally think it’s a crappy way to talk about schools. But a very small school actively soliciting tons of applications then making a big deal about their low acceptance rate doesn’t feel right. Why is it great that they are making applying easier if it just means more kids get rejected? Are they using the increased application access to significantly diversify their student body or welcome more low-income students? If not, it’s hard to see how this is positive for anyone except Colby.

I understand that Colby had diversified greatly over the last few years, and they also made a point about changes to their financial aid.

This article was about a previous president trying to diversify the school, and those efforts have continued: https://www.highereddive.com/news/colby-college-president-oversees-application-spike-amid-focus-on-diversity/405343/

When we visited, I had the sense that administrators were trying to re-steer a ship that had been homogenous for a long time.

Low acceptance happens in almost all SLACs and top universities nowadays. It is new normal, not Colby specific.

https://www.collegekickstart.com/blog/item/class-of-2027-admission-results

But the point is the number of applications Colby is getting—it’s significantly more than any other SLAC on that list. They seem to be encouraging this through a number of methods then bragging about their single-digit acceptance rate. That’s what seems off.

I think one of the reason is Colby's financial aid. Colby caps $15,000 family contribution for a family income less than $150,000.
I compared NPC with other SLACs, Colby was the least expensive one.

I just ran it at 225 and the parent contribution was 57k. I guess they want 42k of the next 75k. I'll tell my kids to apply since there is no cost, but we could never afford that

I meant the family earning less than $150,000 would have the financial aid benefit. Your kid may attend an in-state school for lower contribution.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But the point is the number of applications Colby is getting—it’s significantly more than any other SLAC on that list. They seem to be encouraging this through a number of methods then bragging about their single-digit acceptance rate. That’s what seems off.

They "seem to be bragging"?

Where?

They haven't even posted a CDS in 6 years or so.

Of course they announced it. https://news.colby.edu/story/class-of-2027-admitted-to-colby/
And why don't they submit to the Common Data Set? Seems like a lack of transparency about their admissions rather than not bragging.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But the point is the number of applications Colby is getting—it’s significantly more than any other SLAC on that list. They seem to be encouraging this through a number of methods then bragging about their single-digit acceptance rate. That’s what seems off.

They "seem to be bragging"?

Where?

They haven't even posted a CDS in 6 years or so.

Right. Are all the schools that are issuing press releases with their admission statistics after decisions come out "bragging"? If the school didn't disclose its acceptance rate (in a press release and/or at an info session), students would be applying without realizing how unlikely it is that they will actually get in, which doesn't seem fair to the applicants.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But the point is the number of applications Colby is getting—it’s significantly more than any other SLAC on that list. They seem to be encouraging this through a number of methods then bragging about their single-digit acceptance rate. That’s what seems off.

They "seem to be bragging"?

Where?

They haven't even posted a CDS in 6 years or so.

Of course they announced it. https://news.colby.edu/story/class-of-2027-admitted-to-colby/
And why don't they submit to the Common Data Set? Seems like a lack of transparency about their admissions rather than not bragging.

+1. Some top schools don't immediately post an acceptance rate intentionally: Stanford, Pomona, Caltech, Princeton. https://admission.princeton.edu/admission-announcement

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But the point is the number of applications Colby is getting—it’s significantly more than any other SLAC on that list. They seem to be encouraging this through a number of methods then bragging about their single-digit acceptance rate. That’s what seems off.

They "seem to be bragging"?

Where?

They haven't even posted a CDS in 6 years or so.

EArlier poster said it was referenced repeatedly at an info session, with the acceptance rate written on the board. That is not something I’ve seen at other SLACs.