By Abby Patkin
This year’s seniors have noticed lower college acceptance rates, making admission to top schools nearly impossible for some students.
The New York Times reports that seven of the eight Ivy League schools have lowered their acceptance rates, and several others of the more than 2,000 U.S. colleges and universities have followed suit. According to the Times, reasons for the declining rates include the schools’ concern about their rankings, the admissions officers’ tendency to select students they believe are likely to enroll, and a growing applicant pool.
Due to these and other factors, students said that fewer seniors have been admitted to their top schools than in years past.
College counselor Barbara Brown said that the number of students being waitlisted has increased exponentially due to a variety of reasons, including over-enrollment and increasing numbers of applications.
“[Because the] common application makes [the application process] way easier,” Brown said, “students in other parts of the country are applying to more schools and there is heavy international recruiting now so that’s more students driving up the enrollment.”
Brown said she urges students to put a strong effort into their classes during their junior and senior years, as these are the two years that colleges look at most, though it is often harder to maintain grades during senior year throughout the applications process.
“There is not much more that [applicants] can do because colleges typically looked at transcripts first, then SAT/ACT if they require them, [but] it depends on the type of school you are applying to,” Brown said.
Students say they have noticed the changes as well.
“I definitely felt the competitiveness this year with acceptance rates,” said senior Olivia DeAngelo. “I was waitlisted at a couple of my top schools and that was disappointing.”
The college admissions process has gotten increasingly competitive over the years, with elite schools lowering their acceptance rates further and mid-range schools mailing more and more rejection letters.
“The [admissions] process itself isn’t too bad if you make time to do it, and spread it out,” senior Leah McTigue said. “There was a lot of stress trying to get it all in on time, but for me the biggest source of stress was waiting to hear from my schools.”
“The waiting period for the colleges to respond back to you is…anxiety provoking,” senior Olivia DeAngelo agreed. “I checked the mail every day, hoping I would have envelopes from my schools.
Some students say that competitiveness within South can increase tensions.
“I felt some pressure with my reach schools,” said McTigue, who applied mostly to schools she knew she had a fair chance of getting into. “Because of their lower acceptance rates, I was already nervous about whether or not I would get in, and because a lot of South students were also applying there, I was even more worried about that.”
Due to the increased competition however, students said they have made significant efforts to distinguish themselves from their peers, which meant turning away from the traditional grades-and-SAT approach.
“Colleges look for community service, [which tells] them kids will give back,” Brown said.
“[Applicants] don’t have to travel to a foreign country and climb a huge mountain to get into college, [but] it’s also good the summer in between junior and senior year to work to show a commitment to college.”
“The increased competitiveness pushed me to apply [early decision],” Zach Eagle said, “because I wanted to show that I was committed to that school and show they were my top choice.”
Students said that being from the United States may have also proved a disadvantage when applying to local schools, as colleges tend to look more favorably upon applicants from other parts of the country and abroad.
“I applied to nine schools and I had to do supplements for seven of them, so that was stressful,” DeAngelo said. “I had to manage…my college work and my schoolwork, which was definitely a challenge at points.”
Upperclassmen may also utilize admissions-process aid provided by the school, or seek help from an outside source such as a college counselor.
Eagle said he used College Solutions, a private college counseling company, to aid him in the admissions process.
“They provided counseling on what standardized test to take, where to visit, interview coaching, Common App help, and essay editing,” Eagle said.
Students said that despite their efforts to maximize their potential, there is a certain aspect of luck involved, especially in top tier schools, because they have noticed that thousands of applicants are rejected or waitlisted, while thousands more with the same qualifications are accepted.
“The pool of applicants is larger than ever and the schools have to adjust to that,” DeAngelo said. “It’s unfortunate they cannot accept all of the qualified students.”
Brown said, however, that the increased competition shouldn’t mean that students should tire themselves out trying to pad their resumes in hopes they’ll best other applicants.
“Our kids here do so many things and work so hard,” Brown said. “I really think they are giving it their best job.”
