Some Ivy League Schools Turn Coy
Last week, a few thousand students received the exciting news that they will become Ivy League students. But how many were rejected? For the first time, we can’t be quite sure.
Some of the Ivy League schools are taking a page from Stanford’s playbook this year. As reported by the Wall Street Journal, UPenn, Princeton, and Cornell have decided to withhold some of their admissions statistics, including their acceptance rates, for the 2021-22 application cycle.
This comes after several years of steadily decreasing rates, a trend exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and test-optional policies. The two lowest acceptance rates this year (of those reported) are from Harvard (3.2%) and Columbia (3.7%).
Why the secrecy? School officials will tell you that it’s an effort to redirect focus to the students who were accepted and/or to avoid students feeling discouraged from applying at all.
“We’re focusing not on how hard we are to get into, but on who these young people are that we chose.”
While there is likely some truth to these overtures, insiders like us at Ivy Link know that even the colleges withholding acceptance rates from their public-facing announcements will find some way to leverage their statistics. Whether to preserve clout or to raise money from alumni, you can bet that the record low acceptance rates — along with lofty student SAT and ACT scores — will be mentioned in private dinner parties or alumni donation-request mailers (likely both).
How does this affect your child?
Simply put, the admissions landscape is increasingly competitive, and the selective and highly selective colleges only want the best of the best in their student bodies. This means impeccable grades, stellar test scores (even at test-optional schools), an impressive activities record, and a compelling Personal Statement. We’re already seeing some highly selective colleges like MIT bring back their testing requirements, so make sure your student is well-prepared.
Not sure where to start, or how your student will stack up against their peers? Contact us today and receive an admissions profile evaluation or take a diagnostic SAT or ACT.
