<p>In the last 20 years or so, admissions rates to the Ivy League have gone down. Is this just because more unqualified applicants have been lured by glossy brochures, or are the colleges actually getting more selective?</p>
<p>Personally, I do not think it has gotten more selective in terms of the quality of students being accepted. However, I think it has become more difficult for non-hooked applicants to get in because the Ivies are very interested in increasing geological/ethnic diversity. </p>
<p>For example, Harvard accepted 4 students from my mom’s essentially all white, New England high school the year she applied to college (roughly 1980). These days, Harvard would only accept 1 (on occasion, maybe 2) from that same high school.</p>
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Probably some of both.</p>
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Hm…</p>
<p>^Hah, my bad. It should be geographical – that’s what I get for typing a post so late!</p>
<p>I disagree. Selectivity has certainly increased - possibly as a result of marketing.</p>
<p>Because these places are now open to so more many people (as a result of FA etc…) the calibre of student should certainly be higher.</p>
<p>While the “acceptance rate” is not the most reliable measure (because as you say, some have no hope…) the broader range of students that the college can now draw on will certainly result in a more selective class.</p>
<p>Important to note is that these colleges are much more meritocratic now; in years past (say pre 1960) if you were a “good chap” from the right family you were half way there.</p>
<p>Just my opinion…</p>
<p>I agree with Idiosyncra3y. My Harvard interviewer was talking to me about how he would never have been admitted by today’s standards. He was saying that if you had a decent GPA/rank and SATs in the 1400-1600 range, you could go to an Ivy if you wanted to, simple as that. He also said that he used to be able to predict whether his interviewees would get in with a fair amount of accuracy, but within the past 5-10 years, it has become much more difficult. I think that speaks to the fact that the caliber of students applying (and who eventually get accepted) has been increasing.</p>
<p>Sure, with the Common App there are plenty of people with no shot that apply just for fun, but I think the majority of the applicant pool is the people that have been really focused on college throughout their high school careers - lots of APs, 2100+ SATs, stellar GPAs, etc. - the people considered “average” Ivy applicants on this forum. </p>
<p>So yes, I think there are definitely more “qualified” applicants in the pool now, at least on paper. Whether they actually have a greater level of intellectual ability than the people applying 30 years ago is a whole separate issue…</p>
<p>The reality is that in today’s world a college degree is more widely desired and necessary for success. Therefore, there is increased demand at the most prestigious colleges and the standards have increased to accommodate the large number of qualified applicants.</p>
<p>I think it’s definitely gotten much more selective. Just think about the number of competitive applicants that wouldn’t have considered applying in the past, but now they can because of the amount of need-based financial aid offered.</p>
<p>Also, keep in mind that the marketing doesn’t exclusively attract unqualified applicants</p>
<p>I don’t think it has gotten any harder to get into. The admit rate is only dropping because are just spamming the “apply” button (why not, it’s only $75?).</p>
<p>Excuse me folks. But you should ask yourself what a decreasing admit rate (i.e. increased selectivity) comes from. </p>
<p>More apps, same number of beds equals lower admit rate. That simple. And true for all top US colleges.</p>
<p>Has selectivity increased? Of course. Was that a surprise?</p>
<p>no just more people are applying… does not necessarily mean that the bar is raised for non-hookers.</p>
<p>I personally believe so. I think the value of education has greatly increased in the past decades and people have realized that, fairly often, an ivy education means a good job later in life. This has caused people to work harder in high school and “raise the bar” for ivy’s. Basically, more people want the ivy education, and although the quality accepted is certainly similar, the quantity of competitive applicants has increased.</p>
<p>There are more qualified people in this country graduating from high school each year, and assuming that qualified people apply to Harvard (which is quite an assumption; Harvard has a bad rap to some students) the admissions pool will have better quality. Of course, the huge number growth means there’s a lot more dross, so we’d also have to assume the admissions process works.</p>