Dear Parents: everything about applying for college has changed
If your kid is applying for college soon, that means it’s been decades since you entered college as a freshman.
Before you tell your kid all about your experience applying for college, you should know something really important: just about everything you know about applying to college has changed.
Sure, schools still like to see good grades. For the most part, they consider your extracurriculars and leadership positions.
But the rest of the process has changed. Here’s what you need to know
Acceptance rates at many colleges are much lower than when you applied
Acceptance rates at many schools, especially the “top” schools, are much lower than they were 30+ years ago.
Here are some acceptance rates we could dig up, along with the acceptance rates in 2024:
Harvard: 18% in 1990, 3.6% in 2024
Princeton: 17% in 1990, 5.6% in 2024
Duke: 24% in 2001, 5.1% in 2024
Vanderbilt: 65% in early 1990s, 5.1% in 2024
Getting into top universities today is a bit like playing roulette. You have to be great just to have a shot, and even then, a lot is left up to chance.
Some schools that were commuter schools or had party reputations back in the day are now prestigious and difficult to get into. Northeastern University has transformed itself into a highly competitive school with an acceptance rate of around 5%. Tulane University, which was ranked by the Princeton Review as the top party school in the early 1990s, accepts just over 10% of applicants today.
People apply to many more schools than they used to
Gone are the days of applying to just a few colleges, at least for competitive students.
There are several reasons it’s not unusual for students today to apply to 10 or more colleges.
The Common App makes it easier to apply to schools (although it can still mean a lot of essay writing!)
With acceptance rates lower, people feel the need to apply to more schools to make sure they get into one they want
With costs much higher than they used to be (see below), some people “chase merit” by applying to more schools
Low standardized test scores? No problem. Most schools are now test optional, meaning that more students whose scores are below average apply. Marie can shoot her shot at Harvard with a 1200 SAT. Influxes of students relying on extracurriculars and GPAs to snag a spot drive down acceptances.
Now, this isn’t to say that all students should apply to more schools. Even with the Common App, applying to ten schools takes a lot of effort. Ideally, students can narrow down a list of schools that are a fit, including some they are likely to be admitted to.
It costs way more to go to college, but there’s more discounting
Most parents experience sticker shock when they see how much college costs these days. The cost has increased at about double the rate of inflation over the past 25 years.
Some top schools now list a total cost of attendance over $90,000 and climbing.
But there’s another change you should be aware of: many schools advertise a high price but then discount it for a lot of students through merit scholarships. In fact, some schools give large merit scholarships to everyone they accept.
This makes financial planning tricky. Should you apply to a school that charges $80,000 if you can’t afford that much?
That’s why CollegeIQ publishes a Merit Price(™) for many schools. This is the price students typically pay if they don’t qualify for need-based aid.
Top selective institutions generally don’t give merit aid. But many schools are generous with scholarship money, bringing the true cost of attendance within budget for many students.
“But mom, you don’t understand!”
Applying to school is much trickier for many students today. Parents might have had to trudge to school in the snow uphill both ways when they were kids. But some things truly have gotten harder.
So before you impart your learned wisdom about applying for college on your kids, take a step back and understand how things have changed.