Thoughts from a wise colleague, with my edits

I want to help students and parents understand how much harder the current landscape of selective college admissions is than when their older children applied. They fear that not being admitted to colleges with low admit rates is somehow failing.

Getting denied from highly selective colleges is not failing. Failing in this process is not doing your homework and choosing the right colleges to apply to.

The college admissions landscape for selective colleges is simply very, very tough. For several years, admit rates have gone way down. I have classified colleges that admit 15% or less "unlikelies," but my number is too low (the Common App classifies "highly selectives" as under 25%); that number of colleges has grown from 62 in 2019 to 71 in 2024. 29 of those colleges/universities have admit rates under 10% and 42 have admit rates between 10-20%. Why focus on these colleges? Because as this category of colleges grows, it affects what happens with admit rates at all of the other colleges. That means many "likely" colleges have become "possibles."

A college is not better just because it is harder to get into. But the more selective a school is, the more desirable it becomes. I can point to numerous colleges that just in the last two or three years have cut their acceptance rate in half – and they are the exact same colleges they were a couple of years ago (they might even offer a worse experience because now they have a housing shortage due to increased demand!). People suddenly attach a value to it that has nothing to do with the actual college itself. Conversely, they may assume that if a college is an easier admit, then it must be less good, and that is simply untrue. DON'T LET YOURSELF GET SUCKED INTO THIS! I see kids every year apply to colleges that, even if were accepted, are not good fits for them. 

Next week, some specifics.