Larry received this very timely question about recent college admissions decisions. This cycle has been particularly challenging as students seem to be applying to a greater number of colleges (15+) and so many of the same colleges. Rather than increasing their own admissions chances, this is creating increased competition for a limited number of seats.
Q: It seems that so many qualified students from my high school didn’t get accepted to schools that should have been reasonably certain, given their grades and profiles. I feel like our school got blacklisted- do colleges usually do that?
A: High Schools do badly at some colleges for one of two reasons, principally:
Matriculants don’t succeed at the college.
Accepted students don’t enroll in sufficient numbers (“yield protection”). While yield protection can explain some outcomes, it sometimes feels like an excuse in the absence of hard evidence.
If your family needs college admissions assistance or you would like to learn more about our services, please contact larry@learningassoc.com.