Acceptance Rates

In a previous article, I talked about my son going off to college in 2031. Even though this seems a lifetime away, I am constantly researching the costs associated with higher education. Recently, the New York Times had two interesting pieces about the process of getting into college; a personal reflection by one of their bloggers and a list of college acceptance rates.

Starting with the personal reflection; this blogger describes the application process of one of her children and the factors considered when attempting to get into college. The following is a quote from the personal reflection:

“According to wisdom gleaned from the chatterers on college advice Web sites, the college offering the scholarship was not highly ranked enough or selective enough (admission rate: 65 percent) to be deemed a ‘good school’ (as in, ‘Your kid’s going to Dartmouth? Good school!’). It was low on the prestige factor that is deemed so important.”

This statement reflects many people’s perceptions of higher education. After I read this I wondered where this blogger lives; New Hampshire. For those who live in the greater Boston area, New York, Philadelphia, down to DC, and finally Richmond the competition to get into a ‘good school’ is intense. People who live in the northeast all live within a few hours of many of the best colleges and universities, both small and large in the country. This is not to discount excellent institutions all around the country, but this area has more well-known institutions per square mile than anywhere else in the world. For those who are swayed by the allure of a ‘good school’ the decision is difficult.

On to the next article; the New York Times listed the acceptance rates for a variety of colleges and universities; some big, some small, some private, some public. The acceptance rates range from Stanford, 6.61% and Harvard, 6.17%; to higher ones such as NYU, 32.96% and the University of Wisconsin at Madison, 51%.

What do these numbers mean? All acceptance rates tell us is that on a given year x number of students apply, y number of students are accepted, giving us an acceptance rate of z. Does this have anything to do with quality? No. Does it have anything to do with learning outcomes? No. Does it have anything to do with networking? No. Does it tell you about future job opportunities? No. So what does it tell you? Acceptance rates communicate exclusivity, demand, and the free market; nothing more, nothing less.

With that said you can infer certain things from acceptance rates. Students who are able to get into schools that have low acceptance rates are extremely high performing and probably skilled at networking. Because the quality of students entering is usually exceptional these schools have high graduation rates and graduates that are successful post-college. What these schools do with their undergraduates (again these students are already educated and high performing) is refine them rather than purely educate them.

Back to the blog:

“We worried that she would forever see herself as second rate because the name on her diploma didn’t command sufficient admiration. Hadn’t she already been subjected to some stinging offhand comments about this particular college? From one of her teachers: ‘You’re a great student. Why would you want to go there?’ Or this backhanded compliment from a relative: ‘You know, my company gets some of its best interns from the second- and third-tier schools!’”

For me, I do not care what people think about where I got my degree. If someone looks at my diploma and comments that it is from a second or third-tier school (my undergraduate is from a third or fourth-tiered school) I want little to do with this person. They will probably look down upon a variety of other things including living in Arizona, where I work, and my social status, aka how much money I make (although they will not flatout say it).

But remember this, acceptance rates is only for undergraduate education. Graduate education, what most Ivy and elite institutions are built upon, do not factor into this metric that people use to compare schools. The number of nobel prize winning faculty members a school has (and other prestigious awards) is not solely for undergraduates but mainly for graduates and prestige.

At the end of the day, students need to go the school that fits their needs and not be swayed by societal pressure. If you have money and/or are academically gifted at 18 with a proven track record and if needed, can get scholarships that will not put you in debt, go to a ‘good school’; it will be a profound experience. But if you do not go to one of these schools remember you are not second rate. Even if you walked the halls of Mesa Community College or the University of Texas at El Paso, the only thing that matters today is what you bring to the table. Having a degree from a ‘good school’ might get you in the door or even a few jobs but your life after college is all about what you produce and the quality of your being; not the name on your diploma.