Many elite colleges have lowered their acceptance rates, making it more difficult for qualified students to attend these institutions. This is not only affecting private schools with high tuition rates but elite flagship public schools where tuition for in-state students is more affordable, providing high-value education. Yet a closer look at the data suggests that the situation may not be as dire as one might first believe.
Applying to colleges is easier than before. Given that schools routinely require online applications, prospective students can apply to multiple schools with the Common Application tool, often with no additional application fees. By permitting students to apply to hundreds of schools, Common Application has driven up the number of applicants to every school, even when the actual number of unique people applying may be only marginally higher.
The data supports this observation. College enrollment rates over the past decade have been remarkably steady. Any marginal changes in them cannot explain the precipitous drop in acceptance rates. Students applying to more schools artificially drive acceptance rates down.
Acceptance rates often draw the attention of students. As such, schools are inclined to pay attention to them, even though rankings no longer consider them in analyses. Nonetheless, U.S. News and World Report still publishes the list of 100 schools with the lowest acceptance rates. Acceptance is not just about where you apply but what major you want to study. Every school manages this differently.
Business, health and engineering majors are in high demand. This is for good reason. Jobs in these fields continue to be plentiful, so opportunities abound for graduates with such education and skills.
On the other hand, majors in some of the liberal and fine arts are listed among the least popular, likely due to fewer employment options upon graduation. Students often seek the best opportunities available to them across multiple fronts.
So what can prospective students do to help themselves gain admission into their top-choice school?
Pivoting their major to a similar, albeit different, field can work.
Take for example computer science, a highly popular major among students savvy in science, technology, engineering or math, with acceptance rates typically running one-half or less of the general admission rate.
Applying to a math program when you would prefer computer science can offer you many of the same courses. You can also add a computer science minor to your math degree. Moreover, you can then work to earn a computer science master’s degree to complement your undergraduate math degree.
This may help you get into your stretch university with a logjam of applicants in your preferred major. Moreover, many schools offer a joint five-year bachelor of science/master of science program in which you pick up the extra degree with one extra year of study. Other majors that can segue you into a high demand STEM field include statistics, economics or even linguistics and geography.
Moreover, some of these departments may offer merit scholarships that, together with their reduced demand, may be easier to receive.
The takeaway from this information is that acceptance rates in some schools are dependent on the program that students want to pursue. It requires some effort to uncover whether your first-choice school has differential acceptance rates. Once you discern such information, you can then design an application strategy that best serves your desires.
Everyone has a preferred school and a preferred major. Given that there are two objectives, ask yourself which one is more important to you. Would being a computer science major at your second-choice school be preferable to being a math, statistics or economics major at your first-choice school?
Applying to college is more than just filling in some fields, writing an application letter and downloading information. It requires strategic thinking to smooth the road to admission, even with plummeting acceptance rates.
Sheldon Jacobson is a professor of computer science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
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