Report: Northwestern encourages applications to boost selectivity

Dave_Berry
Fri, 08 Nov 2019 13:12:38 +0000

"Year after year, colleges mail high school students brochures with information on academic programs, student-to-faculty ratio, campus culture and how to apply. Schools know who to reach by obtaining data from high schools, test administrators and other places.

While the practice of buying student data from test administrators isn’t a new concept, a recent report says schools like Northwestern encouraged applications from students they had no intention of admitting to boost selectivity …

"… Applications to Northwestern rose from about 14,000 in 2001 to over 40,000 in 2018. While the number of enrolled students has remained the same, the admissions rate has decreased almost 20 percentage points to 8.5 percent.

A decrease in acceptance rates is one contributor to Northwestern’s rise to the No. 9 spot in the U.S. News & World Report rankings." …