So much misinformation here. The short answer is no prestigious college is easy to get into. This year's acceptance rates aren't out on most of the recently cited schools.

For example, Chicago hasn't posted numbers yet but anecdotally it was a bloodbath with tons of kids waitlisted. Last year's acceptance rate was a record low 7.8 percent, down from the previous year's record 8.4. All indications are it was even more selective this year.

Northwestern's acceptance rate is below 11%.

The only tip I can give for "easy" acceptance is to apply early as a full-pay student at small liberal arts colleges. Schools like Amherst, Williams and Middlebury have 40-50% accept rates in Early Decision. That's the best odds you're going to get anywhere in the "prestigious" admissions game.

on what planet are Rice and Pomona relatively easier to get into?

I actually think Rice is relatively harder to get into, because of price tag.

Pomona relatively easier perhaps if applying from east coast (geographic affirmative action helps).

Rice, Emory, Davidson, Vandy, Pomona

Apply ED to a school that meets your definition of "prestigious" and has ED. EA and SCEA don't give you the same bump.

Anonymous wrote:Definitely women's colleges - comparatively easier to get in.

University of Chicago (again, as compared to colleges of similar educational quality/prestige).

If you are paying full price, you will have a leg up at certain SLACs with smaller endowments.

Has not been true about Univ Chicago for a number of years. UC admit rate less than 10%

Definitely women's colleges - comparatively easier to get in.

University of Chicago (again, as compared to colleges of similar educational quality/prestige).

If you are paying full price, you will have a leg up at certain SLACs with smaller endowments.

Anonymous wrote:
Johns Hopkins undergrad

Not easy to get into. But extremely prestigious, though ironically, not in this area.

Actually, Johns Hopkins is comparatively easier to get into if you are interested/strong in non-STEM, non-pre-med.

Anonymous wrote:Attend a community college and transfer to UVA

My DD wants to do this.DW viscerally opposed. Don't understand why, other hand where DD goes to college is about Mom bragging and not about DD's education.

Perhaps ten years ago or the NewYorker published an article about what college or university added the most value in terms of education and earning power for its graduates. They normed the study for the socio-economic status of attendees, so schools got bonus points if poor kids did well after graduation. The studies showed the Penn State was best the college or university for adding value.

Having said that, I think in terms of what students actually learn LACs generally out rank big universities because of the one-on-one exposure to the professors... this is the same rationale as sending your child to private school. The lower the class size, the more comprehensive the learning experience.

So given my personal preference for LACs, I could say the most prestigious, that are relatively easy to get in would be Reed, Oberlin, Lafayette, Colgate, etc. Graduate and professional schools like to get kids from these school because of the quality of undergraduate education. The downside is that these school are expensive.

Hillsdale

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any of them if you are very rich or famous. If a school is easy to get into, it is not prestigious.

chicago was REALLY easy to get into 10 years ago, was it no prestigious?

Yeah

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NYU
Penn State
the all women's schools (e.g., Mt Holyoke, Smith, Bryn Mawr)
Tulane
Syracuse

Puh-leeze!
Tulane is a total party school, crap academics. Syracuse is famous only for the fact that its lake caught fire.
Penn state? Come on.

Not quibbling with your assertion that Syracuse is not a prestigious school but the lake caught fire? Granted I left Syracuse in the 90s but I googled that and couldn't find anything about it. You're sure you're not thinking about the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland (which I left in the 80s)? Although granted Onondaga Lake was pretty polluted when I was there.

Oh and I should add that there are some schools in Syracuse that are pretty prestigious - the Newhouse School (media) and Maxwell (for grad work) but the plain old College of Arts and Sciences, no.

PP is thinking about Lake Erie which did catch fire several decades ago. But Syracuse is not on Lake Erie. Near it, but not on it. Of the Great Lakes, Lake Ontario is probably closer to Syracuse.

Lake Erie itself never caught on fire - the Cuyahoga River is connected to Lake Erie. Though this is OT, it demonstrates the DCUM knowledge level - something someone once heard in a movie becomes fact.

Anonymous wrote:Sorry but the words "elite school" and "Penn State" don't belong in the same sentence.

Pedophile State? No way

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NYU
Penn State
the all women's schools (e.g., Mt Holyoke, Smith, Bryn Mawr)
Tulane
Syracuse

Puh-leeze!
Tulane is a total party school, crap academics. Syracuse is famous only for the fact that its lake caught fire.
Penn state? Come on.

You're an asshole. Does it really make you better to set yourself up as the arbiter of what's "prestigious," which is a vague term to begin with.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NYU
Penn State
the all women's schools (e.g., Mt Holyoke, Smith, Bryn Mawr)
Tulane
Syracuse

Puh-leeze!
Tulane is a total party school, crap academics. Syracuse is famous only for the fact that its lake caught fire.
Penn state? Come on.

Not quibbling with your assertion that Syracuse is not a prestigious school but the lake caught fire? Granted I left Syracuse in the 90s but I googled that and couldn't find anything about it. You're sure you're not thinking about the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland (which I left in the 80s)? Although granted Onondaga Lake was pretty polluted when I was there.

Oh and I should add that there are some schools in Syracuse that are pretty prestigious - the Newhouse School (media) and Maxwell (for grad work) but the plain old College of Arts and Sciences, no.

PP is thinking about Lake Erie which did catch fire several decades ago. But Syracuse is not on Lake Erie. Near it, but not on it. Of the Great Lakes, Lake Ontario is probably closer to Syracuse.