- University of Pennsylvania downsized their waitlist by 500 spots, while most other Ivy League schools increased their waitlist numbers, reports a Daily Pennsylvanian article last week titled “Penn waitlists over 3,000.” Penn’s waitlist, however, is significantly larger (even despite decreases) than its peer lists: Princeton’s waitlist rose from 1,331 to 1,451; Yale placed 932 applicants on its waitlist (up from 769); and MIT waitlisted 722 applicants, a 59% increase. Penn’s “waitlist philosophy,” as explained by Dean of Admissions Eric Furda, is to “send a signal that you’ve done everything right” and that Penn would love for you to attend, but unless other applicants choose not to enroll, there just simply won’t be enough room to put you on the accepted list. Furda advises high school students to stay on the waitlist even though the percentage of acceptances will likely go down.
- Stanford University received a record high of 32,022 applicants and sent acceptances to a record low of 7.2%, reports a Chronicle article, “The Most Selective Admission Process in the University’s History.” According to this somewhat sardonic article, Stanford is not alone in playing the numbers game: Lots of schools are hitting record-highs these days, and none are being shy about advertising their popularity among the growing applicant pool. “Abandon all hope, ye B students,” concludes the article.
- An increase in applications leads to a decrease percentage of students accepted. What follows from that is an increase in rejections. College senior Anne Paik, rejected from a long list of colleges but “still fabulous,” encourages rejected seniors like herself to chin up, cheer up, and accept that so many colleges have rejected “strong and able” students. “Get up, dust yourself off, and start figuring out the rest of your life,” says Paik. “Keep moving forward, I say.” (New York Times, The Choice Blog)
- A Chronicle article, “Education Dept. Data Show Rise in Enrollment and Student Aid but Flat Graduation Rates,” explores the disparities between college enrollment and graduation rates in the 2007-2008 academic year. According to a recent report only 57% of full-time, first-time, B.A.-pursuing students attending a four-year institution graduation within six years at that same institution where they had begun. 52% graduated in five years and 36% graduated in four years. Private nonprofit institutions had higher graduate rates, with 65% of students graduated within six years; only about 55% of students at public colleges graduated within that same time frame; the rate at private for-profit colleges was only at about 22%. In most cases, more women graduated within the six year span than did men. Also, in 2007-2008 about 76% of students received financial aid, compared with the previous year’s 73%.
Related Accepted.com College Resources:
- “Do’s and Don’ts for Your College Admissions Essay,” a free article.
- “Surviving Each Other During the Senior Year,” a free article.
- How to Write Great College Application Essays and STAY SANE!, an ebook.
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Read the full article: College Admissions News Round Up: Waitlist Rates, Acceptance Rates, Graduation Rates, OH MY!