Anonymous wrote:Public universities have been "trending up" in US News rankings due to changes in US News' formula. It has nothing to do with changes in the schools.
Admissions uncertainty that has long existed, but skyrocketed under test optional policies, has families looking to large publics where stats may play a heavier role than subjective factors like ECs/essays. The problem with this is that ever-increasing apps at certain publics makes admission less certain than it used to be.
With the Pitt example, Pitt has been very attractive in recent years for its rolling admissions, a chance to nail down an acceptance to a decent school early, and with merit. If I recall, Pitt has offered less out of state merit than it used to, simply because it can still attract students without it.
No, but it does have to do with change in the student body, as more and more high achievers get shut out of T20, and/or they can't afford the price tags of such colleges, they end up at the state flagships.