Anonymous
Post 04/21/2026 18:19     Subject: Low acceptance rate vs low yield rate
Anonymous wrote:Yes college realize this, it’s why ED1 and 2 exist.


And why Harvard (and the likes) defer high percentages of ED1 students. They know that they can then offer acceptances in RD and have an extremely high likelihood of getting a matriculation come fall.

Anonymous
Post 04/21/2026 17:50     Subject: Low acceptance rate vs low yield rate
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Low acceptance rate simply means more students apply more and more schools, yield rate will go low too.
It's double edge sword, will impact the ranking in opposite way?

So far, a most extreme case I heard is one student applied 29 colleges, he can only go to one after all.
Don't college realize it?

USNWR doesnt include acceptance nor yield in their calculations.
https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/ranking-criteria-and-weights


OK, U Chicago gaming it just to show it's competitive?


There are more rankings than US news. Some do use these numbers as factors. US news indirectly uses these numbers through other factors.

How so?
Anonymous
Post 04/21/2026 17:28     Subject: Re:Low acceptance rate vs low yield rate
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Yield Rates and Admit Rates for the Class of 2029

https://www.ivywise.com/blog/college-yield-rates/

This table is misleading without providing more context and explanation.

UChicago's crazy 88% yield rate is a result of taking 80% of the class ED.


I still think yield is important, but mostly for schools that have low yields (<20%). That means a lot of students are getting in and not choosing the school.


I think they should have to publish two numbers: overall and the yield without excluding ED.
Anonymous
Post 04/21/2026 16:59     Subject: Low acceptance rate vs low yield rate
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Low acceptance rate simply means more students apply more and more schools, yield rate will go low too.
It's double edge sword, will impact the ranking in opposite way?

So far, a most extreme case I heard is one student applied 29 colleges, he can only go to one after all.
Don't college realize it?

USNWR doesnt include acceptance nor yield in their calculations.
https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/ranking-criteria-and-weights


OK, U Chicago gaming it just to show it's competitive?


There are more rankings than US news. Some do use these numbers as factors. US news indirectly uses these numbers through other factors.
Anonymous
Post 04/21/2026 16:48     Subject: Low acceptance rate vs low yield rate
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Low acceptance rate simply means more students apply more and more schools, yield rate will go low too.
It's double edge sword, will impact the ranking in opposite way?

So far, a most extreme case I heard is one student applied 29 colleges, he can only go to one after all.
Don't college realize it?

USNWR doesnt include acceptance nor yield in their calculations.
https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/ranking-criteria-and-weights


OK, U Chicago gaming it just to show it's competitive?


No need to single out Chicago, all the major schools currently compete to have the lowest acceptance rate even though there’s no relationship between acceptance rate and quality.
Anonymous
Post 04/21/2026 16:45     Subject: Low acceptance rate vs low yield rate
Anonymous wrote:Some people’s obsession with UChicago is wild to me. If you don’t like it, don’t apply. Simple as that. Disparaging schools on the internet reeks of insecurity, but I guess that’s mostly what happens on DCUM these days.

A number far more important than yield and acceptance rate: retention rate. And UChicago has the third highest at 99%.


+100
Anonymous
Post 04/21/2026 16:20     Subject: Low acceptance rate vs low yield rate
Some people’s obsession with UChicago is wild to me. If you don’t like it, don’t apply. Simple as that. Disparaging schools on the internet reeks of insecurity, but I guess that’s mostly what happens on DCUM these days.

A number far more important than yield and acceptance rate: retention rate. And UChicago has the third highest at 99%.
Anonymous
Post 04/21/2026 16:16     Subject: Low acceptance rate vs low yield rate
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Low acceptance rate simply means more students apply more and more schools, yield rate will go low too.
It's double edge sword, will impact the ranking in opposite way?

So far, a most extreme case I heard is one student applied 29 colleges, he can only go to one after all.
Don't college realize it?

USNWR doesnt include acceptance nor yield in their calculations.
https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/ranking-criteria-and-weights


OK, U Chicago gaming it just to show it's competitive?
Anonymous
Post 04/21/2026 16:15     Subject: Low acceptance rate vs low yield rate
UChicago also puts some kids on waitlist in RD and takes them off waitlist only after they sign an ED agreement. Only reason people talk about uchicago is because it actively manages and manipulates yield and its yield is artificially high. No one doubts that the school has great academics.
Anonymous
Post 04/21/2026 16:07     Subject: Low acceptance rate vs low yield rate
Anonymous wrote:The fact that MIT and Harvard have such high yields is even more impressive when one considers that neither has binding early decision.


Also Notre Dame!
Anonymous
Post 04/21/2026 16:03     Subject: Low acceptance rate vs low yield rate
There are only about 10 schools having yield rates above 60%, excluding UChicago. It’s not easy to get without gaming the numbers.
Anonymous
Post 04/21/2026 16:01     Subject: Low acceptance rate vs low yield rate
Anonymous wrote:Hear me out - what if that metric is outdated and shouldn't be considered any way with how current applicants apply/schools mess with it?

I guess I'm mad at all rankings in general because they'll always be gamed, but this is clearly different than 10-15 years ago.


Exactly. Both numbers are pretty pointless - there is better data to use to compare schools.
Anonymous
Post 04/21/2026 16:00     Subject: Re:Low acceptance rate vs low yield rate
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Yield Rates and Admit Rates for the Class of 2029

https://www.ivywise.com/blog/college-yield-rates/

This table is misleading without providing more context and explanation.

UChicago's crazy 88% yield rate is a result of taking 80% of the class ED.


Which means they take in less competitive candidates, it's also going to impact their ranking.
Anonymous
Post 04/21/2026 15:59     Subject: Low acceptance rate vs low yield rate
Anonymous wrote:Low acceptance rate simply means more students apply more and more schools, yield rate will go low too.
It's double edge sword, will impact the ranking in opposite way?

So far, a most extreme case I heard is one student applied 29 colleges, he can only go to one after all.
Don't college realize it?

USNWR doesnt include acceptance nor yield in their calculations.
https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/ranking-criteria-and-weights
Anonymous
Post 04/21/2026 15:55     Subject: Low acceptance rate vs low yield rate
The fact that MIT and Harvard have such high yields is even more impressive when one considers that neither has binding early decision.