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Admissions Statistics
The admissions process, while time-consuming and complex, is also fun and fascinating. Below, we've included some important facts and figures that will help you understand the trends in admission over the past 5-10 years.
College Acceptance Rates
In 2013, college acceptance rates dropped as low as 5.69% for the first time ever. Some of the most selective schools were Harvard University (5.79%) in Cambridge, MA, Stanford University (5.69%) in Palo Alto, CA, Yale University (6.72%) in New Haven, CT, and Columbia University (6.89%) in New York, NY.
| School | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2005 |
| Amherst College | 13.67% | 11.92% | 12.76% | 18% |
| Babson College | 28.18% | 29.0% | 33.19% | 37% |
| Bard College | TBA | 35.20% | 33% | 38% |
| Boston College | TBA | 28.82% | 27.88% | 38% |
| Brown University | 9.2% | 9.60% | 8.70% | 16% |
| Columbia University | 6.89% | 7.42% | 6.93% | 12% |
| Cooper Union | 7.27% | 6.33% | 7.22% | 13% |
| Cornell University | 15.2% | 16.19% | 17.95% | 31% |
| Dartmouth College | 10% | 9.43% | 9.73% | 18% |
| Duke University | 11.6% | 11.87% | 12.59% | 23% |
| George Washington | 33.4% | 32.7% | 32.05% | 39% |
| Georgetown University | 16.6% | 16.50% | 17.98% | 23% |
| Harvard University | 5.79% | 5.92% | 6.17% | 11% |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 8.2% | 8.95% | 9.58% | 16% |
| Middlebury College | 19.21% | 18.48% | 17.74% | 23% |
| New York University | TBA | 35.03% | 25.64% | 32% |
| Northwestern University | 13.9% | 15.27% | 18.00% | 33% |
| Pomona College | 12.89% | 12.82% | 13.58% | 19% |
| Princeton University | 7.29% | 7.86% | 8.39% | 10% |
| Stanford University | 5.69% | 6.63% | 7.07% | 13% |
| Swarthmore College | 14.05% | 14.10% | 14.92% | 25% |
| University of California - Berkeley | TBA | 19.46% | 25.84% | 27% |
| University of Michigan | TBA | 36.55% | 40.55% | 63% |
| University of Notre Dame | TBA | 22.71% | 24.15% | 29% |
| University of Pennsylvania | 12.10% | 12.30% | 12.26% | 29% |
| University of Southern California | 19.68% | 18.20% | 22.77% | 27% |
| University of Virginia | 29% | 27.44% | 32.28% | 39% |
| Vanderbilt University | 11.97% | 12.02% | 15.45% | 40% |
| Washington University in St. Louis | 15.01% | 15.40% | 15.40% | 20% |
| Wesleyan University | 19.37% | 19.74% | 23.60% | 28% |
| Williams College | 16.88% | 16.73% | 17.06% | 21% |
| Yale University | 6.72% | 6.82% | 7.35% | 11% |
Fun Facts for Applicants
You may think you have heard or read all there is to know about the applications, numbers, and statistics, but there are many schools that deviate from the norm. At IvyWise, we keep our fingers on the pulse of education; here are some colleges and universities that are setting themselves apart from other institutions.
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Some schools are more selective than the ones listed above. For example, the Curtis Institute of Music admitted just 2.94% of graduates for the class of 2015. That's even lower than Harvard University, which admitted 5.9% of applicants for the class of 2016.
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Many selective colleges encourage art, music, and dance submissions as part of their undergraduate application process. In 2009, Tufts University in Medford, MA encouraged students to submit a one-minute YouTube video. Since then, schools like Chapman University and Michigan State University have followed suit.
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For the Fall 2008 entering class, the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD had the highest yield rate (percentage of students who attended compared to the number accepted) of any liberal arts college. Second place went to the United States Military Academy in West Point, NY.
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Georgetown University in Washington, DC, is one of the few schools to require an interview for undergraduate admissions.
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The smallest college in the country is Alaska Bible College, with 38 students. They admit 100% of their applicants.
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Antioch College in Ohio is the only liberal arts college to require an off-campus, co-operative work program of all of its students.
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Of the class of 2013 at Hampshire College, in Amherst, MA, one in seven students founded at least one new organization during their high school careers.
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In 2012, the University of California, Berkeley was the most selective public university in the U.S., admitting 21.13% of applicants. Previously, the title was held by University of California, Los Angeles, which in 2012 admitted 21.27%.
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The average student uses 400 sheets of paper during the college application process. Currently, over 200 colleges and universities have gone paperless. IvyWise went paperless in the summer of 2010 (spurred by a suggestion from IvyWise interns, one of whom was a former IvyWise student).
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In 2005, it was reported that a public high school college counselor has an average of only 38 minutes to spend on each student in a given year. According to NACAC, in 2009-10, the national public school student-to-counselor ratio was 460:1.
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Lebanon Valley College in Pennsylvania offers the Vickroy Scholarship, which is half-off tuition, to all prospective students who graduate in the top 10% of their high school class.
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Every year, the University of Chicago challenges applicants to create a unique admissions essay question. The best questions are featured on the following year's application.
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High school students may not take the SAT and SAT Subject Tests on the same day. If they were allowed to, students would be testing for approximately seven hours.
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At over $59,000 per year (including cost of living), Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, NY is the most expensive school in the U.S.
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At the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, 3,000 applicants to the class of 2014 were waitlisted. The school admitted 3,847 applicants. Even if every admitted student chose another school, Penn still had enough waitlisted students to fill its freshman class (2,501 students in 2009).
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In 2010, MIT in Boston, MA, waitlisted 722 students compared to 455 in 2009, a 59% increase.
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All 4-year colleges and universities in the United States accept the ACT.
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With more than 50 colleges and universities within 50 square miles, Boston is the metropolitan area with the most accredited higher education institutions.
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In 2010, business was the most popular undergraduate major for both men and women.
Though the number of women applying to college exceeds the number of men by a ratio of 60:40, the United States Air Force Academy (79% male), the California Maritime Academy (80% male), and the Berklee College of Music (71% male) all boast large male student populations.
Testimonials
Parent, New York, NY
Son accepted Early Action to Stanford University, Class of 2014
Read more testimonials
In the News
April 2, 2013 Watch Dr. Katherine Cohen on Huffington Post Live discussing wait list tips and other college admissions information at decision time.
