College admissions used to be pretty straightforward. Twenty years ago, a high-achieving 12th grade student could apply to a handful of schools – say, five – that included a reach, like University of Pennsylvania, a couple of targets, like Boston University, and a safety, like their flagship state school. For this hypothetical, let’s say it’s Rutgers. These days? There are no guarantees.
While much has been made of the looming decline in college enrollment, the reality is that the number of college applications students submit continues to rise. Year over year, American universities continue to receive record-breaking numbers of submissions. NYU alone received nearly 120,000 applications. There are a few explanations for this phenomenon, namely that more and more schools are joining the Common App platform, making it easier for students to apply. In addition, as acceptance rates to top universities continue to drop (Harvard admits around 3% of applicants), students have adopted different strategies for submission. One senior can apply to over 30 schools by submitting to the maximum 20 schools in the Common App, multiple University of California schools through the UC application, and other schools that use their own bespoke forms, like Georgetown and MIT. Some call this method “shotgunning,” which means submitting as many applications as possible to top schools in the hopes that at least one results in an acceptance.
All this is to say that more applications are being submitted to the same universities than ever before, not because more students are applying, but because students are applying to more schools. Admissions teams – especially those at state schools – have a responsibility to their own institutions to offer acceptances to students who are likely to commit to becoming a part of their community. It doesn’t make sense to receive 50,000 applications, of which most are competitive candidates, offer 3,000 acceptances for 1,500 spots, and still be pulling students off the wait list. Universities know whether or not a student is likely to attend their school based on a variety of factors, including financial background, test scores, GPA, and demographics.
Sometimes, the highest achieving students find themselves in the toughest spot: they’ve worked incredibly hard for three and a half years, gotten excellent grades and scores, contributed countless hours to their extracurricular activities, and earned many awards. 4.0 AP Scholar with Distinction, Class President, and Robotics pro Sarah knows she would be successful at a top institution like one of the Ivy League schools, but earning a spot at any of the top 20 universities can feel like entering a lottery. The competition is truly that fierce. On the other end, state and community schools know that a student like Sarah doesn’t want to settle, and so may also reject her to protect their own matriculation stats.
What’s a kid to do?
The key is making a balanced list of schools, including reaches, targets, and likelies. We don’t call them safeties anymore, because the game has changed.
Need help?
Aristotle Circle’s admissions team has been around the block before. Our NACAC-certified college admissions counselors work with students by meeting them where they are, making a unique plan for their goals, and giving guidance based in reality. The college admissions process doesn’t need to be a black box. Call 212-360-2301 or visit us online to schedule a free consultation call today.
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