When you’re getting ready to submit a college admissions application, studying that college first is a must. After all, high school students have a right to know what they’re up against when they’re trying to get into a particular school. All colleges have different admission rates, just like they have different requirements if you want to become a student there, and the more you learn about the school (including college admissions trends), the more prepared you’ll be for getting into the school in the first place.
General Admissions Trends You Need to Know
In the last several years, many colleges have noticed a huge increase in the number of applications to their schools. And because most colleges, especially top colleges (including Ivy League colleges and top public universities), have a set maximum number of student admits they can accept each semester, it has resulted in a lower percentage of students being accepted. In other words, because the total number of applications has gotten so large, the fraction of students accepted has been lower than in the past.
To some degree, this isn’t just a factor of elite schools getting more selective and arbitrarily changing admit rates; instead, it’s merely a factor of a school’s availability for undergraduate enrollment, which may lead some schools to offer early applicants top priority and to ensure motivated, impressive first-generation college students and low-income students still have a shot at higher education. To demonstrate, take a look at this statistic: in the year 2020, the number of admissions at the University of California’s nine colleges was 119,054. The following year, the total was 132,353, and just two years later in 2022, that number was 125,597 admissions. The number of admissions isn’t rising as quickly as you might think, but that isn’t because fewer people are applying; it’s simply because the school caps acceptances, and even with the pandemic’s disruption, more and more students are vying for a spot.
As a result, the competition has become much fiercer at colleges such as UC, which means that if prospective students want to get into those schools, they need to work harder. They’ll likely need higher test scores, such as a higher SAT or ACT score, and impeccable credentials if they wish to beat out the other students. While this trend is much more common at top schools such as University of California, University of Michigan, Brown University, Yale, and NYU, among others, it has also affected the acceptance rates at many community colleges as well, which can come as a shock to high school seniors who assumed a community college was their solution to avoid the competitive admissions cycle perpetuated by the most selective colleges. Sure, students seeking to save money in their first few years of university and then transfer to a four-year school may have a better chance of succeeding on that path by starting at community college, but the college application process is still no walk in the park.
There’s also another sneaky reason admissions rates are declining, and this one is the colleges doing: yield rate management. Colleges want to be protective of their yield rate, which refers to the percentage of admitted students who actually enroll and attend that school, as a lower yield rate reflects poorly on the school. For example, Harvard has historically had a yield rate of upwards of 85%, meaning that over 85% of students accepted to Harvard University decided to actually enroll and attend. Yield rates are somewhat of a vanity metric, as they make the school look more or less desirable to future applicants. Regardless, keeping the yield rate high requires admissions officers to be extra thoughtful about who they grant acceptance letters to, and they like to prioritize students they believe will actually attend their school.
Applications Will Continue to Increase
College applications naturally subsided a little during the COVID-19 epidemic, but in recent months they are starting to grow in number, and most people expect this trend to continue. In previous years when COVID-19 was in full swing, many colleges weren’t even accepting applications for in-person school, and some still aren’t up to their pre-COVID levels. That said, the number of students applying for college has really grown since the peak of the pandemic, as most schools return to in-person learning or hybrid models, and most people expect this to be the case for quite a while.
One of the reasons for the post-COVID increase in applications is due to deferrals and gap year students who chose to delay their university experience a year or two until the pandemic subsided to ensure they would get the full college experience on campus. Those deferrals and gap year students are now returning to the universities to which they delayed their enrollment, which is further limiting the number of new student spots available.
More International Students Are Applying
Among the new trends, another is that international applicants are suddenly applying in higher numbers than before, and this is no accident or coincidence. Many top colleges, including Dartmouth and other Ivy League schools, in recent years received alumni gifts specifically for the purpose of recruiting more international students. Without these gifts, many of these schools might not be recruiting international students that aggressively, due to the additional costs involved in reaching, marketing to, and educating these students.
International students do not qualify for U.S. federal loans or grant money, but the good news is that because of these alumni gifts, they aren’t usually needed. These prestigious schools can increase their diversity and offer a lot more students a chance at a good education without it costing the schools themselves a lot of money. Plus, these admitted students can enjoy their education without worrying about it costing them huge amounts of money, so it’s a win-win that makes competitive schools more attractive due to a more diverse and well-rounded student body.
DEI Policies Are Still Important for Top Colleges
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies are important for all colleges, but in recent years it’s become even more popular. All college students need to commit to hard work to be a success, but college admission decisions are also based on getting a certain number of students who come from certain backgrounds so that the class is as diverse as possible. In fact, this is one of the reasons getting a college education offers a well-rounded education, much of which takes place outside of the classroom in interacting with diverse peers from whom students can learn and with whom they can collaborate.
DEI criteria are based on race, income, gender, disability, and many other factors that can help certain people gain the chance to get a high-quality education. Of course, these things are also important to smaller and lesser-known colleges, but experts believe it’s going to continue to be a priority for any type of school because one of their goals is to give everyone a chance to go to college. The admissions process at most schools takes DEI criteria seriously so that more people can attend their dream school, regardless of the disadvantages or lacking resources with which they were raised.
The Admittance Rates Will Continue to Decrease
Since the number of college applications is expected to continue to increase (especially as more jobs disappear due to automation, making the stakes and higher education requirements for future employees even more stringent), many believe the admittance rates will continue to decline, as the competitive admissions landscape persists. For instance, here are some acceptance rates for some of the top colleges in the U.S.:
- Harvard: 5.9% for Class of 2018; 4.5% for Class of 2024
- MIT: 7.7% for Class of 2018; 6.7% for Class of 2024
- Columbia University: 6.9% for Class of 2018; 5.3% for Class of 2024
- New York University: 35% for Class of 2018; 16% for Class of 2024
- University of Notre Dame: 20% for Class of 2018; 15% for Class of 2024
And it isn’t just top schools or selective schools that show this trend. Make no mistake, many smaller schools and state schools are also reporting the same trends, so it seems to be a trend across the board, as panicked parents flock to encourage higher education and even graduate school just to help their children land on the credentialed playing field required to succeed in our increasingly competitive employment environment and economy.
SAT/ACT Scores Will Continue to Get Higher
Because fewer people will be selected for admission to a college, the competition will be much worse. Among other things, this will force a lot of high schoolers to work to improve their ACT or SAT score. While this score isn’t the only factor colleges take into consideration when deciding which students should get in, it is still one of the factors, and it’s considered an important one. Even in schools that offer test-optional admissions policies, which means the ACT/SAT isn’t required, some students decide to take it anyway – and this may be a smart move for those seeking an offer of admission.
With more competition, there is always more at stake for prospective students because the entire college admissions process can be a little tougher. When the applicant pool gets bigger, more people are scrambling to get a spot so they can proceed with their college plans. Every action you take that can result in an extra “edge” for you, including a higher ACT/SAT score, a unique and impressive extracurricular differentiator, or meaningful volunteer work that makes a significant impact on the world, will benefit you in the end, so students who concentrate on honing those factors will have that edge.
A Bigger Importance and Emphasis on Sports
While this doesn’t usually directly influence admissions rates, it can do so in a post-COVID world. When COVID was in full swing, a lot of colleges discontinued their sports programs, and this affected their admissions rates. This resulted in an overall decline in sports programs, hence fewer applicants as well. Some colleges, in fact, are working to build their sports programs back up, which means they are actively looking for student athletes to recruit.
The number of athletes is also growing because sports programs took a hit in high schools just like they did in colleges. This resulted in sports programs with either very few members or programs that were eliminated altogether. Many extracurricular activities were eliminated during COVID for safety reasons, not just sports programs.
Learning Loss Will Make It More Difficult for Students
Learning loss means that during COVID, many students lost some of what they’d been learning when the pandemic hit. Because of this, many colleges are encouraging prospective students to take advantage of one or more gap years, in which they do things to help remedy the situation, including taking summer programs and online classes. Colleges aren’t going to slow down their classes to help students catch up; instead, they expect the students themselves to catch up on their own.
These things, in turn, can make it more difficult for prospective students to qualify for admission into a college they love. The schools on their college list may not accept them simply because they’re behind in their studies. And with the competition to get into college becoming stiffer as a result, this makes it even more difficult for certain kids to get into the school of their dreams.
There Will Be More Importance Put on Personal and Supplemental Essays
As any school counselor can tell you, an essay is always an important part of the college admissions process, and with more competition comes more importance on the personal aspects of a college application – including the essay portion. After all, kids aren’t just judged by the numbers and statistics when being reviewed by admissions professionals. A more personalized approach can narrow down the applicants and possibly provide better students in the future.
Any regular decision by college admissions counselors will take into consideration these essays, even more so now that the essay section of the SAT has been eliminated or made test-optional for some schools, more weight will naturally fall on the applicant’s personal statement and the unique accomplishments that set them apart from their peers.
There’s Still A Solution To Gain Acceptance (and It Isn’t a Perfect Test Score or 4.0 GPA)
Despite the increased competition, high-achieving students can still improve their odds of being accepted into the school of their choice by seeking out ways to differentiate themselves outside of test scores and a high GPA. All students can study for a test and improve their score, but not all students are willing to be go-getters and ferret out innovative opportunities to learn and develop new skills, explore world problems, and make a positive impact on others’ lives. Students can do this through independent extracurricular programs, entrepreneurial pursuits, internships, or volunteer missions, but the goal is to break out of the classroom mold and give the admissions office the type of application they can’t resist accepting.
Conclusion
Early action (or early decision, if you’re sure about your dream school) is highly recommended because those earlier applications do take priority at most colleges, so this can offer a higher acceptance rate for qualified applicants. Nonetheless, students shouldn’t get discouraged by these college admissions trends or the increasing competition. Instead, they should see this knowledge as power and motivation and use it to their advantage to craft the ideal admission strategy for their success. A college prep counselor or consultant may be a worthwhile investment in that regard; otherwise, sitting down with a school guidance counselor to discuss the ideal plan of action give your desired education and career path is the next best step to take.