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The Decline in College Acceptance Rates: Why Is It Happening and What Does This Mean?

Student Life

June 21, 2024

For four consecutive years, high school students tirelessly strive to receive admissions to universities in their senior year. Day in and day out, teenagers toil for high grades all while trying to balance their academic conquests with extracurricular activities.

To stand out in the eyes of selective universities, teens must take arduous classes that entail hours of homework. Because the assignments don’t simply vanish once the school day is over, students are withheld from taking a much-needed break. Those who desire succeeding in their AP and IB classes - highly-challenging, college-level courses - are often forced to undergo sleepless nights and marathon study sessions just to maintain their high grade-point averages.

This academic excellence can come at a cost. At times, students must sacrifice their attendance at after-school practices or social events with their friends to prioritize their studies. They cling to the hopes that by the time their senior years roll around, their efforts will culminate in acceptance letters from their dream colleges; that all of the hours they have put in will bring back rewards; that their university plans will finally come to fruition.

However, this is frequently not the case given current patterns in college admittance. In reality, thousands of worthy applicants are being turned away from colleges across the country, whether it be from the elite Ivy League schools or public state universities.

Individuals who have gone through this dreadful experience are beginning to question why there is a decline in college admission rates. Unfortunately, there isn't a single, clear-cut answer as there are several contributing aspects.

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Adoption of Test-Optional Policies

The shift towards test-optional policies gives applicants the freedom to decide whether to submit their standardized test scores. In the past most schools required students to submit either an ACT or SAT score, but fewer institutions have made this a necessity following the COVID 19 crisis.

During the 2020-2021 school year, testing centers were shut down, prohibiting colleges from demanding students’ scores. Although exam centers Have since been reopened, universities have continued embracing the elimination of standardized testing requirements because they want a more diverse applicant pool.

The ACT and SAT exams are often criticized for possessing built-in biases that can greatly disadvantage particular demographics and socioeconomic groups. It is believed that minorities and students from lower income families may not have access to equivalent resources needed to prepare for these exams. In turn, this creates an unfair playing field.

Additionally, they aren’t capable of predicting success. Although such tests can offer insights into how well a student would do on similar exams, they are ultimately incapable of analyzing all of a student's capabilities and potential. Students and parents alike have protested this, claiming it’d be incredibly unfair to base one’s intelligence solely on a test.

These concerns have caused many institutions to become test-optional. Rather than focusing solely on test scores, schools are using a more holistic approach. In other words, they are now evaluating applicants as a whole, taking into account extracurricular activities, personal essays, letters of recommendation, and demonstrated commitment to study.

This new method has resulted in a surge in applications from students choosing not to submit test results; people who were previously discouraged by the focus on SAT and ACT results have been tempted to apply.

FairTest, the National Center for Fair & Open testing, reported that more than 80% of universities are not requiring applicants to submit their test scores. Akil Bello, senior director of advocacy and advancement at FairTest, expressed that their studies have shown that with test-optional policies, “applications [have gone] up at a lot of institutions and especially from underrepresented groups.”

Universities that are extremely selective in particular are receiving an unprecedented volume of applications. They are filled with diverse and academically stronger applicants, making the competition even fiercer.

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Common App

The Common Application remodeled the application process. This single platform allows students to create one application that can be used for over 1,000 national and international colleges, significantly streamlining the way in which students apply.

Instead of completing dozens of separate applications, students can input their information and materials just once. With one application, students can apply to up to 20 different schools. This saves them an immense amount of time and effort, which is incredibly valuable as seniors are now applying to a multitude of colleges.

The convenience and user-friendly nature afforded by the Common App has greatly improved the undergraduate application experience for rising freshmen. By making the entire process much more manageable, this website has enticed more people to apply to schools.

In fact, Common App boasts about the strides it has made in providing access for students of all backgrounds. Because of their program, “low-income applicants have increased at nearly three times the rate of higher-income applicants” since 2019.

They are slowly but surely fighting against the forces of elitism and socioeconomic gaps to provide underserved prospective students with equal opportunities. Their efforts have made notable headway, thus driving down acceptance rates even further.

Yield Protection

One of the significant contributors to the decline in acceptance rates is the ability of colleges to predict which admitted students are likely to enroll. Universities prioritize keeping the yield, or the percentage of students who enroll after having been offered admissions, high.

To maintain an elevated yield rate, institutions will reject or delay the acceptance of highly competent students that they believe will eventually enroll in a more selective school. In doing so, they don’t risk lowering their yield rate and harming their reputation.

Many colleges reach this decision by looking at a student’s qualifications, tracking demonstrated interest, and keeping track of that applicant’s interactions with the school, whether it be through campus visits or follow-ups post-application.

Based on the information they gather, schools will hypothesize if that student truly wants to attend. Those perceived as considering the college a “safety,” may get rejected even if they are a perfect candidate. Further, applicants from high schools with low recent matriculation rates face a high probability of rejection as well.

As a byproduct, this not only decreases schools’ acceptance rates, but it also makes them much more selective. This is reflected by the institution's standing in rankings like the U.S. News and World Report.

In totality, yield protection has made many ponder whether the admissions process is pure luck. If one works too hard and has a pristine application, then they will be rejected on the assumption that they are too capable and will be accepted elsewhere. However, if they don’t work hard enough, then they will be rejected for being subpar. These conflicting ideals have truly created a system based on chance, as no one knows exactly what the admissions officer will be looking for.

The Never-Ending Cycle

The rise of college rejections, driven by the increasing competition and desire to receive admissions, has created a brutal situation for both applicants and admissions offices.

According to Forbes, the Common Application announced that the “number of college applicants through March 1, 2024, has increased by 6% over the same time last year.” Despite this surge in applications, colleges can’t or won’t increase their class sizes because of various constraints: limited resources, faculty availability and infrastructure limitations. This has subsequently caused the competition for those coveted spots to intensify even further.

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Overall, test-optional policies, the common app, yield protection and universities’ small class sizes create a self-perpetuating cycle of greater competition and more applications. As colleges get more selective and rejection rates soar, students respond by applying to more schools to outsmart the admissions process.

Nevertheless, many are still facing the cold shoulder from their reach, target, and even safety universities.

Even in the face of these challenges, students must not lose sight of what's most important: giving your best effort and doing what makes you happy. Though acceptance rates are declining, we will end up where we belong. Each individual’s unique path will lead them to the right direction.

Julia Andrade Xavier
5,000+ pageviews

Writer since Dec, 2023 · 9 published articles

Julia Andrade Xavier is currently a senior in high school. She loves writing, watching TV shows, and skiing during the winter season. Her aspiration is to major in international relations when she heads off to college and subsequently attend law school, aiming to become an attorney.

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