Many families find the college admissions process daunting, but with the right information and resources, it can be a successful and exciting time for you and your child – whether they are leaving next year or still have a ways to go.
That’s why we’ve created this FAQ page, filled with valuable insights, tips, and videos from Educational Connections College Consultant Kristin Landis, J.D. With years of experience evaluating applications at the highly competitive University of Virginia Admissions Office, Kristin is here to help your family confidently navigate the often complicated and confusing college admissions process.
So, let’s dive in and get Kristin’s answers to some of our most frequently asked questions about college admission.
1. What does the new post-pandemic college admission landscape look like?
One thing that has changed the most since the pandemic is the number of applications that colleges are receiving. If you take schools in Virginia alone, UVA saw a 10% increase just from last year. Virginia Tech had a 4.5% increase from last year. James Madison University saw a significant increase, as well.
So what does this mean? It means acceptance rates have gone down significantly. Schools that used to have an acceptance rate in the 20 – 30% range are now hovering around 10%. And the most highly selective schools, which used to have a 10% average acceptance rate, now see a 3 – 4% acceptance rate.
2. Why are colleges seeing more applications than ever before?
The reason for this is twofold. One reason for this is we find ourselves in a test-optional landscape. While some schools have gone back to requesting testing, a large number still don’t require students to submit scores. Therefore, students feel they have the ability to cast a much wider net and apply to schools that they wouldn’t have necessarily applied to before.
Another thing we’re seeing is that schools have done a really good job of making their online presence much better than before the pandemic. So students don’t necessarily feel that they have to visit a school in-person to get a really good understanding of what that school is all about before they apply.
Lastly, colleges have been making a larger effort to reach out to underrepresented groups in recent years. Many schools are now marketing to students who are first-generation college students or students from historically underserved areas.
3. How many schools should students apply to?
That is the million-dollar question. And the answer is it really depends. We tell students not to apply to any school that they cannot see themselves going to. And therefore, the list should only include schools they’re really interested in.
A good number to aim for is between 7 – 12 schools. However, if there aren’t seven schools out there that your child really wants to attend, I would apply to fewer. If there are more, the student can always apply to more.
4. How can a student make sure they have a balanced list?
Most people have probably heard you should compile a “balanced list.” That means they should have a cross-section of schools that fit their academic profile. See what percentage of students with similar GPAs have been accepted to that school. And if you are planning on submitting ACT or SAT scores, look at where your scores would fall at that school.
You want to make sure you have schools on your list where you have higher-than-average GPAs and test scores. Those schools are called your “safeties” or “most likely’s.” Then you have “target schools” where you would fall right around the average. There are also “reach schools.” If a school has less than a 10% acceptance rate, I would consider it a reach.
5. What do a college’s acceptance rates really mean?
Acceptance rates are definitely one thing you want to factor in when picking a school. An acceptance rate is the number of applications that have been received by the school and the number that they’ve actually admitted. The more applications they receive, the less they admit- therefore, a lower acceptance rate. There are a lot of other factors that go into what a school really is, and the acceptance rate is just one of them.
6. How important are college rankings when students are developing their college lists?
College rankings are really there more for the school than they are for the student. Several recent studies show that college rankings don’t factor in a lot of the categories that parents and students want to see in a school. Therefore, you should look at other factors when determining what schools you’d like to apply to.
Some other factors you should consider besides college rankings, include:
- What’s the academic environment like?
- What’s the student-to-faculty ratio?
- What is the average class size?
- Does the school offer a program for what you’re hoping to study?
- Does the school offer programs to support your favorite hobbies and extracurriculars?
7. What factors should students look at when they’re trying to find a “right fit” college?
There are many things, in and out of the classroom, to factor in when you’re looking for a right-fit school. Some questions to consider are:
- Does the school offer a major you’re interested in?
- Will you have an opportunity to take lots of different types of classes or will all of your classes be focused in on one specific area?
- Does the school require a lot of prerequisites?
- Are most of the classes taught by professors or TAs?
- How many professors have the highest degree in the area you’re interested in studying?
- Does the school have the facilities to support your interests, such as labs or gyms?
- How diverse is the study body?
- How far away do you want to be from home?
8. What kinds of support services are available to students in college?
Ever college in the US is required to have a Student Disability Office available to students. What those offices provide to students vary significantly, so you need lots of research to ensure the schools you’re applying to offer the types of support services you need.