Admission Rates

Legacy Admissions: Does Legacy Status Improve Your Chances in College Admissions? There are many nuances to the college admissions process, and one of the aspects that can be hard for students to navigate is whether or not applying to their parents’ alma mater will impact their chances of admission. Legacy status in college admissions can be a confusing avenue to travel, but there can be some benefits – and drawbacks – to applying to college as a legacy.

Once again, many colleges and universities reported record-high application numbers for the class of 2025 and record-low admission rates. Unfortunately, rejection in the college admissions process is a hard reality that many students must face. In some cases, students can be left with few college options, but there are actually a number of routes that students can take to ultimately fulfill their college dreams.

As you're researching schools on your college list, you may come across unfamiliar terms, such as Early Decision, Early Action, and Single–Choice Early Action, among others. These are application options that differ based on the deadline, response date, and your commitment to attend the school, if accepted. Deciding which path to take involves research into school policies, not to mention preparation!

As early application decisions are released this December, some students may encounter a strange outcome that isn’t as clear-cut as an acceptance or denial – a deferral. This can be a confusing end result after working so hard on your early application, but luckily there’s a lot you can do to understand exactly what a deferral means and how to improve your chances of admission. A deferral is an admissions outcome wherein an early applicant, for various reasons, has been sent to the regular admissions cycle for reevaluation, and will receive a decision in April with the other regular applicants.

By Nat, IvyWise Master College Counselor It seems that every year we hear about how college admissions has become increasingly competitive. Stanford reported a 5.07% admission rate for the Class of 2018, and many other selective schools have announced record-low admission rates as well.

In 2006, Kenyon College’s Dean of Admissions, Jennifer Delahunty Britz, wrote a New York Times editorial apologizing “To All The Girls I’ve Rejected”—those female Kenyon applicants who were denied admission in favor of what are now considered rare and valuable male applicants. Since then, the ratio of female students in applicant pools has only gotten bigger. A recent article on NYTimes.

Thinking of transferring? Check out our Webinar on Understanding the Transfer Admissions Process to Find Your Best-Fit School. The transfer admissions process can often be even more selective than regular undergraduate admissions, and with 35% of college students transferring at least once, it’s important to understand exactly how difficult (or not!