How selective is selective?

College Search & Lists
1

<p>What % applicants can a school accept and still be considered highly selective?</p>

2

<p>It’s really dependent on the quality of the applicant pool, but when I see 30% or less, I typically consider the school to be highly selective.</p>

3

<p>Define selectivity? It is not always a function of admission rate. Many schools that I consider highly selective accept well over 30% of their applicants. In some cases, like the University of Chicago, they are “Most Selective”.</p>

<p>Schools with over 35% acceptance rates:
Brandeis University
Carnegie Mellon University
College of William and Mary
Emory University
Johns Hopkins University
University of Chicago
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
University of Virginia
Vanderbilt University
Wake Forest University</p>

4

<p>I agree, and that’s why I said it is really dependent on the quality of the applicant pool. Some schools may accept 30% or less of applicants and simply have a weak applicant pool - this in no way makes them “selective” in the sense that we are discussing.</p>

5

<p>Thanks for the responses; certainly percentages aren’t everything. Let me rephrase my question so I can get the information I am looking for.</p>

<p>I know there are some schools that are considered “reaches” for everyone, regardless of the strength of the applicant. Since percentages don’t tell the whole story, how can I identify these schools?</p>

6

<p>Sim1,</p>

<p>First, to correct Alexandre’s information, the admit rate to Emory University is just under 32% for the current freshman class (and it appears as if that rate may drop further for the incoming freshman class of 2011). As Alexandre and brand_182 have already mentioned, percentages aren’t everything in chances for admission. </p>

<p>For every number that exists in college admissions (or almost any other subject matter), consider the context – otherwise there is no true meaning. For instance, the acceptance rate at Juilliard is about 5%, compared to Harvard’s approximate 10%. Does this mean that Juilliard is a better school? More difficult to get into? Or that somebody accepted into Juilliard would be assured acceptance into Harvard? No, not at all. The comparison is simply to give an example of different types of applicant pools. Have you heard of Cooper Union in NY (13% admit rate) or Tougaloo in MS (an HBUC school with 20% admit rate). You get the point.</p>

<p>Rather than trying to identify all the schools that are selective, begin with yourself. Who are you? What are your academic or career interests? How important are athletics or socializing opportunities? What type of campus environment do you want? What about size of student body? Research university vs. liberal arts college (LAC)? Geography? What about a school’s stance on “need-blind admission” or track record in offering financial aid?</p>

<p>Armed with this information, you can begin the process of selecting a school that begins to match your own academic needs as well as intangible priorities. Begin by casting a wide net and gradually eliminate those schools that don’t meet your needs.</p>

<p>Use resources available to you, such as a school’s Common Data Set. It will give you a lot of important information such as admissions information and relative importance of admissions factors. </p>

<p>(The Common Data Set (CDS) initiative is a collaborative effort among data providers in the higher education community and publishers as represented by the College Board, Thomson Peterson’s, and U.S. News & World Report. It may be the single most useful aid for students to size up their “chances” for admission into chosen colleges/universities. The Common Data Set (CDS) for a given school will give you the breakdown of data that might be of interest to you. Some schools, such as Harvard, are party to the CDS, but many are. To find a school’s CDS, simply go to Google.com and type in: [ (college name) “Common Data Set” ]</p>

<p>Here is the link to background information on the Common Data Set: <a href=“http://www.commondataset.org/[/url]”>http://www.commondataset.org/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>While I’m at it, there’s an organization called the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), which is concerned about college admission counseling. One report about admission trends that was published recently, titled “State of College Admission 2006”, may be of interest to you.</p>

<p>Go to this link for NACAC to find out more about this report:
<a href=“http://www.nacacnet.org/MemberPortal/ProfessionalResources/Research/SOCA.htm[/url]”>http://www.nacacnet.org/MemberPortal/ProfessionalResources/Research/SOCA.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;