Which Colleges/LACs employ tactics aimed at artificially increasing applications & reducing admit rate vs assessing fit?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:1. Wesleyan dropped supplemental essays 10 years ago and they have no interviews/videos and don't track demonstrated interest. They now get 15,000 applications for 3000 spots.

2. Colby dropped supplemental essays, no interview, no optional video. Calls people on WL and asks them to verbally commit 100% before giving an offer.

3. University of Denver gives out waivers for free application, no supplementals.

4. Northeastern has no supplemental essays, no interviews/videos, has application fee waivers if you visit.

Colby has free applications.

You have just touched the surface. U Chicago gives advantages to people doing sunmer program, big ED advantage and cuts down forests for marketing materials.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1. Wesleyan dropped supplemental essays 10 years ago and they have no interviews/videos and don't track demonstrated interest. They now get 15,000 applications for 3000 spots.

2. Colby dropped supplemental essays, no interview, no optional video. Calls people on WL and asks them to verbally commit 100% before giving an offer.

3. University of Denver gives out waivers for free application, no supplementals.

4. Northeastern has no supplemental essays, no interviews/videos, has application fee waivers if you visit.

Wesleyan has interviews. I do them. There are others w no supplements. I don’t think Middlebury does.

Wesleyan does not offer any evaluative interviews. Their alumni interviews are strictly informational according to their AO. Here is what is written on their website:

"Wesleyan does not offer evaluative interviews for applicants as part of our selection process.* Prospective students and applicants are encouraged to take advantage of other opportunities to engage with members of our community."

[Anonymous]

The goal is to get as many applications as possible. Why is this a surprise to people?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a bit peeved by how much Yale has sent my nmsf. He has no chance of getting in yet they've sent more than a handful of mailings including a thick book. Other Ivys sent maybe one to two max. Case Western has been relentless sending 2-8 postcards a week and always at least two on the same day. Today he got a letter from Vanderbilt (which he has no interest) asking him to apply and discussing scholarships. Colgate and Trinity University have also sent quite a bit of mail.

Georgetown doesn't seem to play the same game and is one place he is interested in applying.

My kid also an NMSF got the thick Yale book too!

+2 I was shocked at how nice/expensive it was. Made Harvard's look low-rent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder why schools are incentivized to do this, it’s almost like people judge the quality of the school solely on how low their acceptance rate is.

I mean if that were true, schools would pull out all the stops to get applications no matter what.

Acceptance rate is one of the metrics that determines US News & World Report ranking. Northeastern is famous for increasing its marketing and simplifying its application to draw in more applicants. It features in Jeff Selingo’s book, Who Gets In and Why.

Contrary to popular belief, this is not true.

I still think it backdoors into rep scores though…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The goal is to get as many applications as possible. Why is this a surprise to people?

Colleges should get 50,000 apps a year organically, it’s unfair for them to use marketing techniques like (checks notes) advertising and direct mail.

Shocked, shocked to find marketing in this holy tower of academia.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Vanderbilt is obsessed about getting applications

not really, no

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Vanderbilt is obsessed about getting applications

not really, no

I think my NMSF kid got one mailer and one email from Vandy. Pretty much the same deal with all T-20s other than Chicago. For SLACs, swat was the one we heard from repeatedly (a bit annoying since they rarely accept anyone from DC’s magnet).

[Anonymous]

OP, are you the same person that posted the “Why public universities are trying to be elite” thread? You sound like the same person. Are you just trying to be a jerk?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1. Wesleyan dropped supplemental essays 10 years ago and they have no interviews/videos and don't track demonstrated interest. They now get 15,000 applications for 3000 spots.

2. Colby dropped supplemental essays, no interview, no optional video. Calls people on WL and asks them to verbally commit 100% before giving an offer.

3. University of Denver gives out waivers for free application, no supplementals.

4. Northeastern has no supplemental essays, no interviews/videos, has application fee waivers if you visit.

Wesleyan has interviews. I do them. There are others w no supplements. I don’t think Middlebury does.

Middlebury does interviews, my kid had one last year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:1. Wesleyan dropped supplemental essays 10 years ago and they have no interviews/videos and don't track demonstrated interest. They now get 15,000 applications for 3000 spots.

2. Colby dropped supplemental essays, no interview, no optional video. Calls people on WL and asks them to verbally commit 100% before giving an offer.

3. University of Denver gives out waivers for free application, no supplementals.

4. Northeastern has no supplemental essays, no interviews/videos, has application fee waivers if you visit.

It’s pretty common to ask a Waitlisted applicant if they will attend before accepting them. A family member recently experienced this with Harvard Law School. They called him and asked him if he would attend if he were accepted and he said yes. They called back a few minutes later and said that he was in. I don’t see anything nefarious about Colby or any other school doing this.

[Anonymous]

Chicago and Yale for sure for my DC. While DC got accepted or waitlisted at a few T20s, ended up not applying to Chicago. Rejected straightaway by Yale.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:U Chicago has been sending mail to my son urging him to apply. He would absolutely never get in. I can only think they're doing this to boost applications so they can remain super selective.

Maybe they have a higher opinion of your son than you do?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:U Chicago has been sending mail to my son urging him to apply. He would absolutely never get in. I can only think they're doing this to boost applications so they can remain super selective.

100 percent happening to my kid.

I told my kid they were good enough to get the postcard but not good enough to get in. THAT lit a fire and they got very, very serious. All of a sudden they were studying on the weekends and practicing for their AP, IB, and SAT exams. Worked out in the end!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:U Chicago has been sending mail to my son urging him to apply. He would absolutely never get in. I can only think they're doing this to boost applications so they can remain super selective.

100 percent happening to my kid.

I told my kid they were good enough to get the postcard but not good enough to get in. THAT lit a fire and they got very, very serious. All of a sudden they were studying on the weekends and practicing for their AP, IB, and SAT exams. Worked out in the end!

That is some tough love right there. Glad it worked out!