Are you currently reviewing college admissions statistics, and trying to understand how to use the information to shape your college application strategy? Analyzed correctly, a review of college admissions statistics can help you get into your dream school. Here are a few examples:
- Fact: The middle 50% of admitted applicants to Northeastern (class of 2028) had GPA’s between 4.2 and 4.5)
Strategy: In order to figure out where to apply, it’s important to get realistic about your profile. As you might deduce from this statistic, which is representative of class profiles at many highly selective colleges, there is currently RAMPANT grade inflation at the high school level. If your GPA is weak, it doesn’t mean that you don’t have a chance, but understand that a 3.0 will make you less competitive.
It also helps to understand that colleges will consider your academic record in context, and will look at how challenging your courses are. (If you have maxed out the rigor at your high school, you might have a bit more leeway with your GPA.) Be aware that colleges will also compare you to other students from your high school, however – so, if your peers are in similarly challenging courses but have better grades, it will potentially hurt you.
- Fact: For the class of 2028 at MIT, the lowest 25th% of admitted students had a 780 out of 800 on the math section of the SAT.
Strategy: If your test scores are low, especially in your intended area of study, do NOT assume that your dream school will just overlook it. The reality is that the most selective schools can admit a class many times over with students who have 99th percentile test scores and perfect grades. (Those numbers alone aren’t enough to get you in, and even students with that profile are still more likely to get rejected than to get in.) So, whether or not your numbers reflect your potential, it’s super important to make sure that you are maximizing your entire candidacy, and really conveying your personality and ability to contribute.
- Fact: Yale has acknowledged that while they were (technically) test optional, students who submitted scores were 200 percent more likely to get in. “If you just look at the rate of admission, It’s been about a 6% admit rate for students with scores and only a 2% rate of admission for students without scores.” (Yale is no longer test optional.)
Strategy: Don’t waste your ED (or REA, in the case of Yale), on a school that is unlikely to get past your test scores! I see a lot of wishful thinking, even when a school is super transparent about how much they value high test scores, especially for certain demographics. (If you aren’t applying from an under resourced community, scores are often especially important.)
- Fact: BC also copped to a 200% advantage for students who applied with test scores.
Strategy: Don’t submit your scores if you fall below the 25th percentile, and think really hard before submitting unless you are above the most recent 50th percentile. (If your grades don’t reflect your potential but your test scores fall between the 25th and 50th percentiles, it might be worth submitting, so that the school has some evidence of your ability to handle the work.) Also, when assessing your market strength, remember that the data you are seeing is often a cycle or two behind, and the numbers tend to rise every year.
- Fact: UNC Chapel Hill’s out of state acceptance rate is around 6%.
Strategy: It’s critical to take a detailed look at published admissions statistics, for both public and private schools. Parents will often mistakenly assume that a certain school is a safety for their student, based on broad data, without understanding the nuance inherent in the class profile. For instance, many popular state schools have governmental mandates that require them to bring in a class that is predominantly composed of in-state students. UCLA’s overall admit rate is 9%, but only 13% of the students are out of state, and their odds of admission are much worse than 9%. (UCLA is the most applied to school in the country, attracting applicants from all over the world.) UC Berkeley’s out of state acceptance rate is around 6%, and Georgia Tech and UT Austin have out of state acceptance rates of 10% or lower. (Some reports put UT Austin’s out-of-state admit rate around 4%.)
Bottom line, the admissions standards are often MUCH higher for out of state students at the popular flagship schools, so plan your list accordingly.
- Fact: In recent years, many popular schools, including Tulane and Claremont McKenna, have admitted more than 65% of the class Early Decision.
Strategy: Pay very, very close attention to the regular decision admit rate v. ED and/or EA, and grab an ED bump if you can. Especially at liberal arts colleges, there can be relatively few spots left for regular decision applicants – despite the fact that the regular decision pool is usually much larger.
Although these college admissions statistics are potentially daunting, don’t be discouraged. The right strategy, and a realistic assessment of your candidacy, can optimize your chances of getting in.
