<p>I have a suspicion that higher yield corresponds to higher absolute selectivity among similar top unis. </p>
<p>I’m not referring to 1% or 2% higher yield, but when the difference is in or close to the double digit range. There is a good correlation between yield and cross-admit ratio among the competing elite unis. Successful applicants to the top unis generally have more options, and if as a group they tend to choose a certain college over another than perhaps one can make a case that the college with that wins the cross-admit ratio is more selective in the absolute sense. If this theory is correct, then a college that wins cross-admit ratio (because of the stated correlation, tends to have higher yield), may have higher absolute selectivity even with higher admit rate. This phenomenon may be explained by a high self-selectivity of the applicant pool of the college.</p>
<p>For example, if both college A and college B have an admit rate of 10%, but college A wins the cross-admit ratio by 50%, then college A may be more selective than college B in the absolute sense, i.e., it is harder for a randomly chosen applicant to get into college A.</p>