How Much Should you Worry about College Admission?
Are you worried that you, a friend, or a family member may not get into a good college?
That's not a surprise when you think of the scare tactics educators (and parents) sometimes use to motivate students, or all the newspaper and magazine articles about the rapidly growing number of applications some colleges are now receiving.
It's true that applications are up, particularly at the most selective colleges. But that fact, taken alone, can be misleading. More important is the reality that only a small percentage of colleges and universities are highly selective.
The so-called top tier colleges and universities, including the Ivies (Cornell, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Brown, Dartmouth, and Penn) are turning away a staggering number of applicants.
Although such institutions typically receive applications from top students, their acceptance rates are extremely low. Recently, some top tier colleges and universities have admitted just eleven or twelve percent of their applicants.
In fact, the very top colleges turn down hundreds of high school valedictorians every year.
Students with perfect SAT scores are also frequently denied admission by the Ivies and similarly selective universities. And being being involved in lots of activities, despite what you may hear seldom carries much weight.
Most students, however, wind up applying to far less selective institutions. And, most of those institutions are more than happy to enroll students with a combination of good grades in a college prep curriculum and reasonably good standardized test scores.
Most students, surveys tell us, think colleges are more selective than they actually are. In truth, the average college admits about seven out of ten applicants. So, even if you are not building rockets and toying with Einstein's theories in your spare time, there are many fine colleges which will be happy to have you.
So, don't let high anxiety ruin your college search. If you apply to at least five colleges, including two safety schools; colleges where average freshman test scores and high school grade point averages are below yours, you have nothing to fear.
That's not a surprise when you think of the scare tactics educators (and parents) sometimes use to motivate students, or all the newspaper and magazine articles about the rapidly growing number of applications some colleges are now receiving.
It's true that applications are up, particularly at the most selective colleges. But that fact, taken alone, can be misleading. More important is the reality that only a small percentage of colleges and universities are highly selective.
The so-called top tier colleges and universities, including the Ivies (Cornell, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Brown, Dartmouth, and Penn) are turning away a staggering number of applicants.
Although such institutions typically receive applications from top students, their acceptance rates are extremely low. Recently, some top tier colleges and universities have admitted just eleven or twelve percent of their applicants.
In fact, the very top colleges turn down hundreds of high school valedictorians every year.
Students with perfect SAT scores are also frequently denied admission by the Ivies and similarly selective universities. And being being involved in lots of activities, despite what you may hear seldom carries much weight.
Most students, however, wind up applying to far less selective institutions. And, most of those institutions are more than happy to enroll students with a combination of good grades in a college prep curriculum and reasonably good standardized test scores.
Most students, surveys tell us, think colleges are more selective than they actually are. In truth, the average college admits about seven out of ten applicants. So, even if you are not building rockets and toying with Einstein's theories in your spare time, there are many fine colleges which will be happy to have you.
So, don't let high anxiety ruin your college search. If you apply to at least five colleges, including two safety schools; colleges where average freshman test scores and high school grade point averages are below yours, you have nothing to fear.
About the Author:
Daniel Z. Kane is a veteran professional educator. He authored and maintains one website on online degrees another on online colleges and scholarships, and more than a half dozen additional education sites.