College admissions in the United States

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College admissions in the United States plays an important sociological role, determining (in part) the quality of education a person will receive as well as his or her career track. College admissions are virtually inextricable from social class, not because admissions offices are classist (in fact, they strive not to be so, offering financial aid and, sometimes, preferential admissions to applicants from disadvantaged backgrounds) but because of the strong positive correlation (but not necessarily causation) between college prestige and a person's social class, both past and future. A college degree is considered a prerequisite for a middle class lifestyle. An "elite" degree — that is, earned at one of approximately 100 highly respected colleges — is often taken as a proxy for entry into the upper-middle class.

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[edit] Application process

While the process has been, to some degree, standardized, college admissions are generally not centralized, and certainly not on a national level. Admissions criteria vary among institutions, and even from year to year within an institution. Despite this variance, it is understood that certain factors in an application — such as SAT scores and high school grades — can play a decisive if not pivotal role in determining an applicant's perceived desirability.

There is no limit to the number of colleges or universities to which a student may apply, though an application must be submitted for each. Students from low-income backgrounds — considered fortunate even to be able to attend college — may submit few applications or even only one, to a nearby local school. By contrast, upper-middle-class students in urban areas usually apply to five or more, sometimes as many as 20. There is a stereotype that upper-class students usually apply to four or fewer and may boast about how few applications they submitted or how little (if at all) they prepared for the SAT. This may result from the fact that it is easier for upper-class students to attain admission to some top colleges than for middle-class students of comparable ability.

While it may seem excessive for a person to apply to as many as 10 colleges, this is commonly done because high school students usually must submit all applications before knowing the results on any. Students who are "shut out" (that is, admitted nowhere because of unrealistic expectations or submitting too few applications) can usually attain admission somewhere — in the worst case scenario, they re-apply a year later — but rarely at the quality of institution they could attend if their process had been better researched. Also, colleges in the United States vary vastly in measures such as size, location, lifestyle, and personality, and it is common for a student not to know his or her best "fit" at the time of application.

With a few exceptions, most undergraduate colleges and universities maintain the policy that students are to be admitted to (or rejected from) the entire college, not to a particular department or major. (This is unlike college admissions in many European countries, as well as graduate admissions.) Therefore, students are to be evaluated on general academic promise rather than proficiency in one discipline. Based on a number of factors, detailed below, colleges decide either to admit or reject a student based primarily on his or her academic promise and likelihood to attend. "Borderline" students may also be wait-listed, which means that they may be admitted later, but that the decision will rely on information that is not yet available, often pertaining to the makeup of the incoming class. (Students who are wait-listed are advised, if they wish to be admitted, to furnish updated information on grades, achievements and, most importantly, to indicate interest in attending, For a wait-listed student, it may be his or her interest in attending rather than academic ability which is in doubt.)

Some students, often legacy students, may be accepted for the following year; for example, a student applying for the class of 2010 (fall 2006 entry) may be admitted into the class of 2011. In this case, he or she may either take a gap year or attend another school. Some colleges allow students to voluntarily defer matriculation for one year to take a gap year, but this is rare at the undergraduate level.

Admitted students may also be awarded financial aid. There are two kinds of financial aid: Need-based aid is awarded entirely on the financial specifics of the student's family, while merit-based aid (scholarships) are given to students judged to show exceptional academic promise.

Depending on the size and values of the school, admissions criteria can vary from being almost entirely formulaic (based upon standardized test scores, grades, and a few other numerical factors) to involving a significant subjective component evaluating the student's "fit" for the institution. There is a perception that smaller colleges accentuate the subjective components while large universities tend to be more numerical.

[edit] Culture

The United States lacks a specific hierarchy of its colleges and universities, and therefore there is no general consensus as to which are most desirable. The Ivy League is often venerated (and sometimes incorrectly used as a synonym for "great school") though few would argue it to represent the eight absolute best colleges in the country — rather, it is a collection of eight highly respected ones.

In some social circles, the prestige of one's undergraduate college is taken to be a measure of a person's intellectual and personal qualities.

The prestige of an undergraduate college is determined by a number of factors:

[edit] University prominence

The prominence of the university — in sports, research, and culture — plays a major role in determining the prestige of the associated college. However, the quality of the affiliated university is not an unimportant factor in undergraduate decision-making; successful undergraduates usually begin research by the junior or senior year, and sometimes working with top professors and university resources.

[edit] Rankings

Some magazines issue annual rankings of colleges and universities, most prominently U.S. News and World Report. These cater mainly to those about to make college decisions and suffering from status anxiety about how their institutions are perceived by "respectable society". While criticized for their "one-size-fits-all" approach to college decision-making, these magazines are influential and some colleges and universities have been alleged to have taken measures geared toward increasing their standing in the rankings. One college that has vocally opposed the rankings is Reed College which, in protest, refused to submit any information to U.S. News and World Report. In retaliation, U.S. News counted all non-submitted statistics at the lowest level possible and has thus computed Reed to be in the second tier, although its academic reputation score suggests that it should be placed much higher.

[edit] Geography

Colleges in urban and northeastern locales are considered to be more desirable and academic because of their environment, and therefore more prestigious. For example, all of the Ivy League colleges are in the northeastern United States, with three in or near major cities. There is some basis for the above-mentioned perception, as there is higher demand among students for colleges in desirable locations, and therefore these institutions can be more selective.

[edit] Teaching quality

The perceived quality of teaching, as well as the educational model of an institution, can affect a college's prestige, especially within academia. Though Nobel Prize winners or similarly lauded academics may not teach many undergraduates if any at all, it is considered prestigious to have them on the faculty.

[edit] Acceptance rate

Acceptance rates vary widely among undergraduate colleges, sometimes being as low as 10%, or as high as 100% (open admissions), and often the prestige of a college is taken to vary inversely with its acceptance rate. This is generally viewed by knowledgeable people to be a poor measure of an institution's quality because of the corrupting influence of marketing as well as the role played by a college's prominence. For example, the University of Chicago, while as selective as some of the "Ivies", has a notoriously high acceptance rate for one reason: Weaker students are scared by its reputation as being "too hard" and don't apply, or mistakenly believe it to be a public university.

[edit] Yield

Yield is the percentage of students accepted to a university or college who attend it, held by some to be a referendum on the institution's desirability. Since this is the measure given most value by undergraduate admissions departments, undergraduate admissions offices often try to optimize it by seeking "best fit" students who are highly likely to attend if admitted.

[edit] Factors in admissions

As stated above, college admissions in the United States are not centralized. Among the most important factors in college admissions are high school grades, difficulty of a student's high school course selection, and scores on the SAT or ACT, the nation's two most prevalent undergraduate admissions exams. The reputation of the high school is also important — admission to an Ivy such as Harvard is taken as an entitlement at the nation's top prep schools,[citation needed] even by mediocre students, though uncommon at even the best public schools; at public schools with average reputations, admission to Ivy League colleges is considered unattainable for most students.[citation needed] Teacher recommendations are often considered, especially if other recommendations from that teacher are on file for comparison.

An underrated but crucial factor in gaining admission to elite colleges is the absolute necessity that a student indicate interest in the college or university.[citation needed] Yield — the percentage of accepted students who attend that college — is taken by college deans and admissions officers to be the "bottom line" of an institution's prestige as well as an indicator of the current direction of the school's reputation, valued even more than U.S. News-style rankings because it is objective. (Moreover, from a practical standpoint, a high yield rate reduces the statistical uncertainty in the composition of the incoming class.) To gain admission to an elite institution, an applicant must indicate steadfast intention to attend if accepted; this includes (if not requires) gestures such as attending a tour, requesting materials from the college, and interviewing with an alumnus/alumna of the college. At the most selective institutions — such as the Ivy League colleges — failure to indicate such a level of interest ensures rejection. However, some colleges state that showing interest is not a factor in admission, such as Stanford.[1]

Of tertiary importance are extracurricular activities — clubs, service activities, and athletic or musical talents — though it is common for U.S. students to overestimate their importance in admissions. While it is very damaging to a student's application for him or her to have no extracurricular involvement, college admissions offices generally consider it impossible to measure or compare the quality of students' extracurricular activities.

A widespread misconception, most common among the middle (as opposed to upper) class, is that, because it is difficult for many students to attain admissions to colleges such as Harvard even with perfect SATs and grades, these colleges seek an amorphous "something extra" in terms of the applicant's personal qualities — charisma, maturity, or (from a more cynical perspective) social class. This is false: In truth, admissions officers readily admit that it is impossible to evaluate applicants at such a fine level, given their limited resources and time. What accounts for the "something extra", in actuality, is that most middle-class families have no idea how to apply to elite institutions; the most common mistake is that the applicant fails to establish and prove interest in attending.

Many colleges also use affirmative action to increase the racial and geographical diversity of the student body. Whites and Asians, especially from coastal states, are perceived to suffer a disadvantage by this policy, and therefore it is highly controversial. For instance, in 2006, minority students received 44.4% of University of Pennsylvania acceptances, 39.5% of Dartmouth College acceptances, 39.4% of Harvard acceptances, 39% of Brown University acceptances, and 38.5% of Cornell University acceptances. According to the study done at Princeton University in 2005, if racial preferences were eliminated, black and Hispanic acceptance rates would dramatically fall, and four out of five admissions spots that would have been offered to those students would instead be turned over to Asian students. The effect on admission rates for white students would not be pronounced. Study PDF of study

Children of a college's alumni receive preferential treatment in admissions — this is known as the legacy preference. If the family is a major donor to the college (ca. U.S.$ 250,000 or more) the likelihood of a student's admission increases dramatically.

[edit] Early Decision, Early Action, and Rolling Admission

Many schools have implemented a system through which students can apply at a time other than the most common deadline (January 1st of the senior year) to lighten the load on students and admissions officers.

  • The Early Decision program permits students to apply a few months early (usually November 1 or November 15). These students are promising to attend the school if offered admission in mid-December. This benefits schools because they can increase their yield (the number of accepted students that choose to attend) and helps students as they need only submit one application if they get into their top choice. The one situation under which a student may back out of the binding agreement of Early Decision if accepted is if the financial aid offered is not enough.
  • The Early Action program is similar to Early Decision in that students apply early and find out the results early, but it differs in that they are not bound to the school if accepted. This program is implemented by many liberal arts colleges and some of the Ivy League (Harvard and Yale).
    • There are two subprograms within Early Action: single- and multi-choice early action. Single-choice early action schools only permit students to apply early to one school while multi-choice early action schools let students to apply to many schools.
  • Rolling Admission is a program used by many schools with a large number of applicants. It allows prospective students to apply at any time between the fall and spring and to receive their result a few weeks later. This releases stress on the students because they do not have to apply at the same time to all of their schools, but is often criticized for favoring the earlier applicants. It is generally recommended that students apply as soon as possible to their rolling admissions schools.

[edit] Need-blind, need-Aware admission and guaranteeing to meet full need

In need-blind admission, applicants are evaluated without regard to their ability to pay. However, need-blind admission does not necessarily mean that the financial need of an admitted student will be met. Only a handful of schools in the U.S. guarantee to meet 100% of the demonstrated financial need of all admitted students. It is therefore important to always ask colleges and universities, even those that are "need-blind", whether they guarantee to meet full need. If a school does not guarantee to meet full need, other questions to ask include the percentage of students who apply for aid and have their full need met, the amount of an average financial aid package, and how the typical financial aid package is broken down (i.e., loans, grants, work-study, etc.) Other schools practice what is called "need aware" admissions: They consider the ability of students to pay in deciding who to admit.

Less well-endowed universities such as Tufts University and Washington University in St. Louis have need-aware admissions policies, where some high-achieving applicants may be wait-listed or even rejected because the school cannot provide enough aid for the applicant's education. This is known as "admit-deny." Some of these schools will still meet the full financial needs, however dire, of the not-so-well-off students they accept. At the same time, schools such as Tufts have made need-blind admission their top priority, with the size of their endowment being the largest hurdle to adopting such a policy.

Few schools in the U.S. are need-blind for international applicants. For the most part, these are the most selective schools in the U.S. As of now, there are only six schools in the US that are need blind for international students, namely MIT, Harvard University, Yale University, Princeton University, Williams College and Middlebury College (contributed by Ahsan Rahim). Additionally, very few U.S. schools offer any form of financial aid for international applicants. Some schools do offer merit scholarships, based on academic achievement, to international students even though they may not offer financial aid. "Full rides" to U.S. colleges and universities are extremely rare for international students. The few colleges that do set aside financial aid for international students often offer it only to the best qualified applicants. Therefore, international undergraduate students who need substantial financial aid to study in the United States must have exceptional grades and test scores to maximize their chances of receiving it.

All students applying for financial aid must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Many colleges and universities, particularly those who provide financial assistance beyond federal and state aid from their budgets or endowments, require additional forms from applicants. International students have additional forms to complete before they can enroll, including a statement of finances required by the U.S. government.

[edit] Yield protection

Yield protection refers to the methods colleges and universities use to maximize yield (see above). Often, "yield protection" is taken as a charged term (hence, the euphemism "yield optimization") that refers to the practice of wait-listing (that is, delaying a firm decision on the applicant's admission until further information about the applicant and incoming class emerges) or rejecting "overqualified" students and therefore signifying an institutional inferiority complex. (This is an extreme and rare form of yield optimization.) In truth, virtually all elite undergraduate institutions use methods of yield maximization, and consider a student's likelihood of attendance foremost in their admissions decisions.

[edit] Role of social class

Socioeconomic status plays a remarkable role in students' decisions whether or not to attend college, where to go, and moreover their success at the admissions process. While this link is controversial, there is little doubt that it exists. Social class is possibly as relevant as intellectual ability in determining the outcome of a student's application process. This is not because admissions officers are classist though there are various reasons for this phenomenon. Some argue that social class plays a major role in determining the quality of information to which a student will have access during the process. It is very unlikely that a lower or lower-middle-class student will know how to apply to the Ivy League colleges. By contrast, upper-middle-class students often have access to expensive admissions counselors, who have often worked as admissions officers at prestigious colleges, while upper-class students benefit from family connections and exclusive prep schools that guarantee, even for mediocre students, top college placement. It should be noted, however, that in recent years government pressure and institutional reform have negated much of the information-based advantage of upper-middle-class applicants. Still, another possible cause of the relationship between college admission and social class is consideration of the reputation of an applicant's high school. Because the "best" high schools are found predominantly in affluent school districts, and because those affluent school districts have a history of sending students to prestigious universities, those universities come to regard those school districts as superior to others (which, because of complex financial and social factors, they often are). In other words, an A at one particular high school may not be as impressive as an A at a "better" school.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

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