Some Early Thoughts on This Year’s Admissions Cycle

The 2018 admissions cycle has just ended and while we’re still sorting out the results and trends, a clear message has been sent from the top-tier colleges: Things are getting harder, not easier. Schools we used to take semi-for granted provided some shocks this year: Villanova, Boston University, George Washington, Northeastern (yes!!)–deferrals and outright rejections will be sending us back to the drawing board for next year’s seniors to determine what constitutes a target school and what’s a reach. For the first time, next year Bucknell will have direct-admit to its business program, making this school even more competitive.

But here were some really crazy things:

• Northwestern’s acceptance rate is down to 8.4% and it was 6.4% for Regular Decision
• New York University had a record 75,000+ applications this year, a 12% increase (admissions rates not yet released).
• USC’s acceptance rate is down to 13%, 3 percentage points lower than last year.
• Boston College’s acceptance rate went down by 9 percentage points this year, and its average ACT increased a point, to a 33.
• More popular than ever is an admissions tactic of deferring first semester by asking students to go to London or another destination, then matriculate in the winter (American, Northeastern, USC, Middlebury, and more)

Students are applying to more schools than ever, bringing these rates down. Even Boston College, which has tried to make it more difficult to apply (yes, they’ve said this) by requiring challenging essay questions, isn’t immune. More popular than ever are schools near or in major metropolitan areas, especially in that “sweet spot” range of 5,000 to 15,000 students. Good advice: Be willing to look outside that box and consider smaller schools if a big flagship university isn’t your answer, while still applying strategically to your dream school(s). Think about how you envision yourself spending your time at college, apart from attending classes. Ask questions. Don’t be afraid to visit schools with a range of sizes and in different locations. You just might be surprised.