Ivy League and College Admissions Acceptance Rates 2027– Myths & Facts for College Applications

COLLEGE ACCEPTANCE RATES!!

Don’t Worry- Let’s Explore …

This note removes any confusion about COLLEGE ACCEPTANCE RATES and provides families with clear information about the data allowing you to ignore unnecessary and alarming “news” crossing your social media feeds about College Acceptance Rates.

College Acceptance Rates?

I often receive emails from potential families that begin with “can you tell me my student’s chances of acceptance to Harvard (or fill in the blank)” – !? Well you should run –not walk– from any college counselor that claims to have the answer to that question. Let’s take the mystery out of the data- and help you make an informed decision about where to submit your college application. Likewise, please don’t fuel the frenzy by paying an application fee and wasting your time thinking you may “get lucky” and somehow receive an acceptance letter – nope, college admissions isn’t a raffle ticket. College applications should be thoughtful and “Fit” you! Let’s explore…

You’ll find college acceptance rates 2022 to 2027 at the end of this newsletter- but suggest you read through to appreciate why you should ignore these data and instead learn about the data points that do matter in College Admissions.

With all the hype about ever-shrinking college acceptance rates and record number of applicants, you may not only be worried about where you’ll be accepted, but have been led to believe you too need to apply to several colleges in an attempt to increase your chances of acceptance to your “dream school”.  These concerns may have been jolted as extracurricular pursuits were paused for part of high school during the pandemic. All of these activities that changed for our high school students were an important part of distinguishing yourself from other applicants and finding meaning and direction outside of the classroom. It’s my plan to make you more comfortable and to understand why you shouldn’t be as concerned about these “shrinking” acceptance rates and believe that you need to apply to dozens of universities.

Let’s debunk the first myth straight away.   Statistically, if you apply to ten schools each with a 10% chance of admissions, I know that you all understand that you do not have a 100% chance of earning a spot at one of the ten universities! That’s the principle of mutual exclusion taught in AP Statistics. About this time of year I speak with anxious parents and students who approach me with a list of 15 to 20 colleges. That’s simply far too many universities to apply to and there’s not enough time in the fall season to accomplish such a misguided plan.

How many colleges should I be applying to on my Common Application?

That’s the WRONG question!

WHICH COLLEGES should you apply to – that’s the question your college advisor should help you answer. I’m going to give you the short answer and most strategic stress-free response– : Every student should apply to two “safety” colleges that the student would be thrilled to attend- fitting the student academically, socially and financially. Once we identify those choices, we can turn attention to selecting “Match” and “reach” colleges. Every year students learn of acceptances to their match and reach colleges– please don’t apply to 20 colleges- that’s simply too many! I recommend 5 to 10 as the ideal number – this will vary based on unique circumstances which relate to the major area of study, student demographics and a host of issues that defined YOUR balanced list.

With a solid Strategic Educational and College Admissions plan, implemented as early as middle school, each student will have goals and take steps towards achieving those goals. The selection of colleges will become clear.

“FIT” — you’ve heard me discuss this before – but before I discuss why you should IGNORE data on Acceptance Rates– I’m discuss “FIT” one more time–!

The “fit” between a student and a university is based upon three pillars:

1. ACADEMICS

The university you attend should provide an outstanding academic experience in your intended major/minor fields of study, along with appropriate internship and career placement opportunities. This is paramount to selecting where to attend.

There’s a major field of study to match the unique strengths and interests of every young adult! With nearly 4,000 colleges offering an impressive number of traditional and cutting edge majors and minors, it can indeed be overwhelming to navigate the maze of available degree options.

Your evaluation of academics should move beyond published lists of college rankings. The most important steps include learning how to navigate through the “Academics” and the “Research” tabs to fully explore the curriculum maps, degree requirements and the research projects faculty are conducting. As a former university professor with 30+ years of experience on curriculum planning committees, I’m able to help your family assess “academic fit” and effectively explore your academic options to balance each student’s current and emerging interests and strengths.

Undecided? Consider that “flexible” and universities LOVE to hear about students with multi-disciplinary interests. All of your applications will in fact provide you with an opportunity to explain your choice of major(s) as being formed through classroom and other experiences. More about this below.

2. SOCIAL

The social fit is important as each student is looking to find a “home-away-from-home” for their next four years. Is the campus inviting, inclusive and are there opportunities for ongoing social and emotional growth?

This is exactly why students visit university campuses before enrolling. Your Educational and College Admissions Assessment will help you hone in on the criteria that are important to you. Let me help you understand how to have an informative and meaningful campus visit – and yes, that may even be a virtual visit which is bolstered by connecting with students and campus representatives in your major, your potential clubs and other ways to feel the “vibe” beyond a webcam. Nearly all colleges are welcoming visitors — some may eventually bring back the fall overnight campus visit for seniors.

3. FINANCIAL AFFORDABILITY

Every family faces unique financial circumstances and we factor those into the choices of where to apply and enroll. A. If you’re ineligible for financial aid, merit aid remains an important option to explore.

THERE ARE MANY CAMPUSES PROVIDING an EXCELLENT EDUCATION offering deep discounts on tuition given your “admissions profile”.

I truly want to reassure you that there are universities that don’t actually charge the “sticker price”. As you contemplate your balanced list, consider including some safety colleges– those include solid educational opportunities where your portfolio places you in the top 1% of the college’s typical student profile.

SO Let’s Talk about College Acceptance Rates…

Parents and students should be unconcerned about the news on acceptance rates and instead keep perspective on how to prepare for and conduct research on universities.  Just because Cornell’s acceptance rate was 8.2% the past cycle doesn’t mean that’s YOUR odds of admittance. Your odds may be much higher. I can also tell you that your odds are 0% if your GPA is a 2.2 unless you won the Google Science fair or are a national debate champ. Aggregate published acceptance rates vary across majors, gender, location and student profile. Please read on…

Ivy League Class of 2027 Acceptance Rates

Harvard 3.4%

Columbia 3.9%

Yale 4.35%

Brown 5.1%

Penn 4.1%

Dartmouth 6%

Princeton ~4%

Cornell ~8%

See end of note for detailed charts.

All my juniors understand how to navigate the process to create a manageable list of match, reach and safety institutions.

If however, you’re truly curious about acceptance rates- you’ll find a sample of acceptance rates for the class of 2027 across several colleges and universities. I also retained my earlier rates beneath that chart.

But let me try to convince you why college acceptance rates should be a very very very rough guide to your college planning and of little concern to your decision making.

College Acceptance Rates are Less Important than You Think!

Yes, these numbers are a representation of the degree of competitiveness. A college with a 25% acceptance rate compared to a 70% acceptance rate will be more challenging academically and have accepted students with a stronger academic profile. That is a useful fact.

Once you’ve approached the 25% or lower acceptance rate- think of this rate like a cold day- there’s no difference between a 20 degree and a 5 degree day- you need a hat, gloves and your warmest coat! Similarly, for college admissions success, you need to build your Strategic Educational and College Admissions Plan well before your senior year if you are to be a viable and potentially successful applicant in this cohort of selective universities. There aren’t enough spots for the numbers of students who want to attend and would be outstanding students if accepted.

Starting as early as Middle School, students need to focus on developing their academic and extracurricular interests which are further explored and enhanced throughout high school!

COLLEGE MAJORS –

A Different Question from COLLEGE CHOICE

What about those single-digit and less-than-50% college acceptance rates?

YOUR SPECIFIC CHANCE OF ADMISSION IS NOT THE SAME NUMBER AS THE PUBLISHED AGGREGATE

ACCEPTANCE RATES!

College acceptance rates are aggregate numbers representing the population as a whole. If we could more realistically focus on your profile: your GPA, your intended major, your extracurricular experiences, your competition and leadership roles, your gender, your location, your legacy status and a number of other relevant factors, you will appreciate that YOUR chances of admission at any given university are unique and can greatly exceed the published acceptance rates.  RELAX!

Where can I review results or profiles of accepted students?

A virtual tunnel to the center of the earth for anxious parents and student awaits you at Talk.collegeconfidential.com

There are literally tens of thousands of discussion threads on this webpage – some threads are exceptionally informative, but like Wikipedia- lots of speculation from well-meaning people with too much time on their hands!

Nonetheless, you can see

“Official Results Threads” .

Google: Talk College Confidential Official Results Thread Class of 2027 INSERT: MY DREAM UNIVERSITY

In a given thread, you can see the profiles of students accepted, rejected and waitlisted. It is quite anecdotal but also informative.

MEANINGFUL STATISTICS:

The only statistics to focus upon are those that provide indications of the quality of education you’ll receive at a given university. Here are a few that can help you decide whether the investment is a good one.

Do graduates still find a connection to their chosen field and institution at age 30, 40, 50? Check out statistics on the percentage of alumni giving (also see my earlier newsletter on why this percentage is an indicator of financial aid success).

What’s the percentage of graduates who have a job offer/graduate school acceptance in their field upon graduation? What percentage of students have an offer of employment 6 months post-graduation?

What percentage of classes are taught by professors with a terminal degree vs. graduate students?

What percentage of students are guaranteed freshman dorm housing?

What’s the average class size for freshman introductory classes and upper level electives in my intended major?

What are the campus crime statistics?

What percentage of students are on financial aid?

As students continue to apply to more colleges and in record numbers, more applicants means lower acceptance rates. Unlike other organizations and businesses, colleges cannot continue to increase in size as they are limited by classroom and dorm space and the number of faculty members. Colleges are cautious not to overbuild as demographic trends don’t always sustain.

Universities aren’t competing to increase their market share of the available 18 to 24 year old students.

Universities are competing to attract the brightest and most interesting students.

Are you one of them?

Finding Your Niche?

For those of you who are regular readers of my newsletters and blogs, you understand that College Admissions is holistic.  Recently I wrote about the relevance of demonstrating “character” and your “uniqueness” in the admissions process. What really matters for all of us, students and parents alike, is knowing that we lead lives filled with joy and purpose. Admissions reps are also moved by the topic of “kindness” – this has been trending in college admissions for a few years – and in response, the Common App 2021-22 had a new essay about “kindness” and “gratitude” – the first new prompt in a decade. The prompts for the Common App 2023-25 are unchanged –(stay tuned – my early June newsletter will discuss college essays).

The core essay prompts for the Common Application — especially numbers 1, 4 and 6 address this very point!

My goal in the partnership I share with each family is to guide each young adult to becoming self-directed, inspired and ultimately to recognize their strengths and passions in ways that will enable each young adult to contribute to their communities.

A student’s GPA and transcript are a significant determinant of admissions and academic success. Yet with five to seven qualified applicants for every available space in the freshman class, admission committees seek to create a freshman class that is diverse in intended majors, geographic origin and personal interests.

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Students who are successful not only in admissions but as actual undergraduate students, are those who have well defined interests, nurtured as early as middle school and further developed throughout high school.

Having an academic niche or a personal passion outside the classroom builds motivation, focus and academic success.

Parents, guidance counselors and your college advisor can help your student identify or deepen an academic and /or personal interest.

What sparks your student?

The most selective universities again realized phenonenal increases in application numbers.

See charts at end of note with 2022 to 2027 acceptance rates

I’m so proud of all students – our recent acceptances include:

Harvard, Princeton, UC Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon, USC, Cornell, U. Michigan, Northwestern, Georgia Tech, University of North Carolina, Vassar, Bowdoin, Wellesley, Emory, U Illinois, Notre Dame, NYU, Rice, University of Chicago, Washington University (WUSTL), Drexel, Tulane, Brown, Purdue, Swarthmore, SCAD, Ohio, Georgetown, Hamilton, Reed, Miami, Johns Hopkins, University of Florida, University of Arizona, Penn State, Villanova, Northeastern, SUNY-ESF, St. Johns, Embry-Riddle, Colgate, Fordham, Columbia, Barnard, Syracuse, Swarthmore, Pittsburgh, Dickinson, Colorado, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Howard, Fordham, SUNY Stonybrook, Duke, Case Western, Rochester Institute of Technology, Parsons, Virginia Tech, Boston U., Hobart & William Smith, Claremont Mckenna, Davidson, Westpoint, Gettysburg, Amherst, Temple, Denison, Howard, UT Austin, SUNY-Binghamton, Hamilton, George Washington, American, Indiana, SMU, James Madison, UF, and many more!

Whether you’re a senior planning to make a choice, or a 10th-11th grade student starting your college research- or just starting high school, please review my online reviews and reach out to Schedule an Educational and College Admissions Planning Assessment

It is never too early to begin taking steps to ensure your student has a long-term strategic educational plan fostering a love of learning, building solid time management skills and establishing a directed path towards the undergraduate experience. I personally guide students to discover their individual academic strengths and develop an intrinsically motivated passion for learning, ensuring a seamless transition to the undergraduate experience.😊

It is indeed never too early to begin Educational and College Admissions Planning!

College Admissions Planning- Start Early- Increase Your Chances of College Acceptance

Whether you’re ready to write your college essays or just beginning to research colleges and majors, or perhaps you want to create a customized reading, learning and time management plan to explore or deepen an academic/personal interest, I invite you to contact me to schedule your Educational and College Planning Assessment available for current seniors and all middle and high school students.

Best wishes for a absolutely meaningful and enriching 2021-22.  May your family stay safe during the ongoing pandemic. Please remember, we are all citizens of local and global communities – do your part to help those in need and to keep your neighbors safe.

Bonnie

DO YOU HAVE A STRATEGIC EDUCATIONAL & COLLEGE ADMISSIONS PLAN FOR SUCCESS?

ARE YOU ON TARGET?

YOUR PERSONALIZED EDUCATIONAL AND COLLEGE ADMISSIONS PLAN RESULTS IN MOTIVATED, SELF-DIRECTED & CONFIDENT YOUNG ADULTS READY TO SUCCEED!

WITH OVER THIRTY YEARS OF EXPERIENCE AS A UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR & ADMISSIONS COMMITTEE MEMBER YOU’RE INVITED TO LEVERAGE HER EXTENSIVE KNOWLEDGE OF UNIVERSITY CURRICULA AND CAREER OPPORTUNITIES TO BUILD YOUR COLLEGE PLAN!.

I WISH ALL HIGH SCHOOL AND UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS CONTINUED SUCCESS – defined by a joyful and meaningful year both within and outside the classroom.

Define and Set Your Goals with College Advisor Bonnie Rabin, PhD

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