<p>I realize this is an old post, but also please consider:</p>
<p>the applicant pool at U Chicago is going to differ from others, therefore SAT and acceptance rates will differ . You can’t draw a great statistical conclusion if you’re comparing apples to oranges. i.e., if students "self select " themselves out from applying to U Chicago, or JHU, these institutions will have a spuriously higher acceptance rate. Additionally, the colleges are learning how to “game” the system too, knowing that the majority of applicants are influenced by their parents, who in turn only spend time ( on the whole, as an aggregate) watching the USNWR ratings . So these schools strive for higher numbers of applicants, by sending them “personalized” “invitations” to apply… thus, the acceptance rate is also dependent on that school’s advertising budget. Be careful what you accept as “truth” !</p>