Continued best wishes to all students for a strong finish to the academic year.
College Acceptance Rates?
With all the hype about ever-shrinking college acceptance rates and record number of applicants, you may not only be worried about where you'll be accepted, but have been led to believe you too need to apply to several colleges in an attempt to increase your chances of acceptance to your "dream school".
Let's debunk that myth straight away.
Statistically, if you apply to ten schools each with a 10% chance of admissions, I know that you all understand that you do not have a 100% chance of earning a spot at one of the ten universities! That's the principle of mutual exclusion you'll learn about in AP Statistics. About this time of year I speak with anxious parents and students who approach me with a list of 15 to 20 colleges.
The importance of building a
Strategic Educational and College Admissions plan as early as middle school, is that we have goals and take steps towards achieving those goals.
Your student should be unconcerned about the news reports and instead keep perspective on how to prepare for and conduct research on universities. All my juniors understand how to navigate the process to create a manageable list of match, reach and safety institutions.
If however, you're truly curious about acceptance rates- here's a comprehensive link to the acceptance rates for the class of 2021 at the Ivy League.
IVY LEAGUE Acceptance Rates and at the end of this newsletter I've included a detailed chart of acceptance rates at several colleges.
But let me try to convince you why college acceptance rates should be a very very very rough guide and of little concern to your decision making.
College Acceptance Rates are Less Important than You Think!
Yes, these numbers are a representation of a the degree of competitiveness. A college with a 25% acceptance rate compared to a 70% acceptance rate will be more challenging academically and have accepted students with a stronger academic profile.
Once you've approached the 25% or lower acceptance rate- think of this like a cold day- there's no difference between a 20 degree and a 5 degree day- you need a hat, gloves and your warmest coat! Similarly, for admissions success, you need to build your Strategic Educational and College Admissions Plan well before your senior year.
Starting as early as Middle School, students need to focus on developing their academic and extracurricular interests which are further explored and enhanced throughout high school!
What about those single-digit and less-than-50% college acceptance rates?
YOUR CHANCE OF ADMISSION IS NOT THE SAME NUMBER AS THE PUBLISHED ACCEPTANCE RATES!
College acceptance rates are aggregate numbers representing the population as a whole. If we could more realistically focus on your profile: your GPA, your intended major, your extracurricular experiences, your competition and leadership roles, your gender, your location, your legacy status and a number of other relevant factors,
you will appreciate that YOUR chances of admission at any given university are unique and can greatly exceed the published acceptance rates. RELAX!
Planning throughout high school will increase your chances of admissions.
Where can I review results or profiles of accepted students?
A virtual tunnel to the center of the earth for anxious parents and student awaits you at Talk.collegeconfidential.com
There are literally tens of thousands of discussion threads on this webpage - some threads are exceptionally informative, but like Wikipedia- lots of speculation from well-meaning people with too much time on their hands!
Nonetheless, you can see
"Official Results Threads" .
Google: Talk College Confidential Official Results Thread Class of 2021 INSERT: MY DREAM UNIVERSITY
MEANINGFUL STATISTICS:
The only statistics to focus upon are those that provide indications of the quality of education you'll receive at a given university. Here are a few that can help you decide whether the investment is a good one.
Do graduates still find a connection to their chosen field and institution at age 30, 40, 50? Check out statistics on the percentage of alumni giving (also see my earlier newsletter on why this percentage is an indicator of financial aid success).
What's the percentage of graduates who have a job offer/graduate school acceptance in their field upon graduation? What percentage of students have an offer of employment 6 months post-graduation?
As students continue to apply to more colleges and in record numbers, more applicants means lower acceptance rates. Unlike other organizations and businesses, colleges cannot continue to increase in size as they are limited by classroom and dorm space and the number of faculty members. Colleges are cautious not to overbuild as demographic trends don't always sustain.
Universities aren't competing to increase their market share of the available 18 to 24 year old students.
Universities are competing to attract the brightest and most interesting students.
Are you one of them?
Finding Your Niche?
For those of you who are regular readers of my newsletters and blogs, you understand that College Admissions is holistic. Recently I wrote about the relevance of demonstrating "character" and your "uniqueness" in the admissions process. What really matters for all of us, students and parents alike, is knowing that we lead lives filled with joy and purpose.
My goal in the partnership I share with each family is to guide each young adult to becoming self-directed, inspired and ultimately to recognize their strengths and passions in ways that will enable each young adult to contribute to their communities.
A student's GPA and transcript are a significant determinant of admissions and academic success. Yet with five to seven qualified applicants for every available space in the freshman class, admission committees seek to create a freshman class that is diverse in intended majors, geographic origin and personal interests.
Students who are successful not only in admissions but as actual undergraduate students, are those who have well defined interests, nurtured as early as middle school and further developed throughout high school.
Having an academic niche or a personal passion outside the classroom builds motivation, focus and academic success.
Parents, guidance counselors and your college advisor can help your student identify or deepen an academic and /or personal interest.
What sparks your student?
For over three decades I've provided pre-college advising to thousands of students and I look forward to meeting your young adult to develop a partnership with your family further enriching the high school experience to ensure admissions and undergraduate success.
