WaPo: It’s becoming easier to get into many colleges.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I image there will be any number of well meaning relatives at Thanksgiving who saw the headline but didn't read the article telling our kids they will have no problem getting into UVA or Georgetown or Duke because they read that it's easier to get into college now.

Do relatives really talk about college admissions at Thanksgiving? I guess it beats politics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I image there will be any number of well meaning relatives at Thanksgiving who saw the headline but didn't read the article telling our kids they will have no problem getting into UVA or Georgetown or Duke because they read that it's easier to get into college now.

Do relatives really talk about college admissions at Thanksgiving? I guess it beats politics.

I’ve got a hs junior who gets asked about her college plans by all the adults every time we see them. They can’t really think of anything else to ask her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Penn had a 40% acceptance rate in the 90s. It was still considered a good school.

+1. Current system is absurd. So much obsession with pushing acceptance rates down further and further to signal exclusivity.

UChicago had an acceptance rate in the 30s as recently as 2005. That was before they sold out to the Common App.

When I was applying to college they were at about 50%. Bard let everyone in. NYU was a safety.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Not applicable to most of us who want our high-achieving kids to get into recognizable institutions.

Speak for yourself. I want mine to get a good education and not be in a shark tank full of kids whose entire lives were designed to get them into Northeastern or BU

(It's not even Harvard)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Penn had a 40% acceptance rate in the 90s. It was still considered a good school.

+1. Current system is absurd. So much obsession with pushing acceptance rates down further and further to signal exclusivity.

UChicago had an acceptance rate in the 30s as recently as 2005. That was before they sold out to the Common App.

When I was applying to college they were at about 50%. Bard let everyone in. NYU was a safety.

Was that in the 80s? The cities were legitimately not in a good place so even Yale had a huge drop in applicants. I remember wanting to go to Columbia and my parents said absolutely not. A relative who lived in the city pointed out that the entire city reeked of urine and there were rats everywhere. But still I think the students at places like U of C we’re still top students—it was sort of a niche flavor so only really geeky smart people even thought to apply there.

[Anonymous]

For lots of reasons, it's going to become much more difficult to get into T20 and WASP.

But outside of the elite schools, it's going to become much easier overall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I personally think this is fantastic news. Not sure why every poster here seems perversely focused on finding a reason why this is not good.

The takeaway: on average admission is getting easier. Parents, chill!

It's meaningless. Easier to get into a college just means the college is less useful to get into. Getting a good education was never hard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Penn had a 40% acceptance rate in the 90s. It was still considered a good school.

+1. Current system is absurd. So much obsession with pushing acceptance rates down further and further to signal exclusivity.

UChicago had an acceptance rate in the 30s as recently as 2005. That was before they sold out to the Common App.

When I was applying to college they were at about 50%. Bard let everyone in. NYU was a safety.

Was that in the 80s? The cities were legitimately not in a good place so even Yale had a huge drop in applicants. I remember wanting to go to Columbia and my parents said absolutely not. A relative who lived in the city pointed out that the entire city reeked of urine and there were rats everywhere. But still I think the students at places like U of C we’re still top students—it was sort of a niche flavor so only really geeky smart people even thought to apply there.

OK now that NYC is back to being a sh*thole it should be easier to get into Columbia and NYU. Yay!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:2.55 NOVA non-stem major with acceptances in hand from WVU (OOS COA $43k), Radford ($26k) and GA Southern ($36k). Four apps pending. Maybe a real shot at first choice! I was hoping for one acceptance. Despite 90%+ acceptance rates at 6 of 7 schools applied, I'm shocked.

I am not trying to take away from your kid at all, but I bet WVU is actually a 100% acceptance rate...it's just that 10% of the applications are technically deficient...school never sends the transcript, or the kid never went to the WVU application portal and filled out their senior year courses.

WVU student population dropped nearly 30% when the plan was there would be more students today vs. 2013.

We'll take it. Still accredited (as far as I know) and it's not Liberty.

congrats! you are aware WVU had to drop a no. of courses/majors in 2023?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good news for those who think only 4.0+/1500+ gets you into a good college.

https://wapo.st/3CJZ26U

What is a "good" college?

Useless article.

Acceptance rates are wacky due to ED, Common App, DEI, yield protection, non uniform applicants, and more.

It's not a meaningful measurement. It's a vanity metric.

It IS a useless article because it's based on 2022 stats. Does not take into account the scotus decision, elites dropping test optional, increase of full pay international students and myriad of other factors

[Anonymous]

All the essays, application fees, SRAR, portals … it doesn’t feel easier. It feels much harder.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good news for those who think only 4.0+/1500+ gets you into a good college.

https://wapo.st/3CJZ26U

What is a "good" college?

Useless article.

Acceptance rates are wacky due to ED, Common App, DEI, yield protection, non uniform applicants, and more.

It's not a meaningful measurement. It's a vanity metric.

It IS a useless article because it's based on 2022 stats. Does not take into account the scotus decision, elites dropping test optional, increase of full pay international students and myriad of other factors

None of what you mention indicates that acceptance rates are going down…and things aren’t much different today vs 2 years ago…if anything acceptances are even higher at schools ranked 30+

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good news for those who think only 4.0+/1500+ gets you into a good college.

https://wapo.st/3CJZ26U

What is a "good" college?

Useless article.

Acceptance rates are wacky due to ED, Common App, DEI, yield protection, non uniform applicants, and more.

It's not a meaningful measurement. It's a vanity metric.

It IS a useless article because it's based on 2022 stats. Does not take into account the scotus decision, elites dropping test optional, increase of full pay international students and myriad of other factors

None of what you mention indicates that acceptance rates are going down…and things aren’t much different today vs 2 years ago…if anything acceptances are even higher at schools ranked 30+

I didn't say anything about acceptance rates. read first then post.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes if you ignore the top 25 and cast a broader net to research the colleges ranked around #30-100-ish, you'll be in the driver seat, versus the college. And you'll still find a great college and maybe a better fit.

Not sure why everyone wants to burn themselves out chasing the same 25 boys when there are a lot more fish and the sea, and some of the most desirable ones on paper aren't even good fits for everyone.

Because they are better, or at least the privates in the top 20 are. Better for hiring, better phD/JD feeders, and they have the largest percent of super smart kids as well as majority seminar style classes. Furthermore true top students do not burn themselves out getting in

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But, not at the T1-T20s.

So? Are those the only schools worth attending?

YES.