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Can a college's quality of education be told by its acceptance rate?
I've heard mixed answers on this, and I'm unsure. Please let me know!
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4 answers
Kellee Scott
Director, MBA Admissions at USC Marshall School of Business
23
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Kellee’s Answer
Hi Daphne, Neil's answer is spot on. In addition, acceptance rates go up when application volume goes down in general. In other words, the acceptance rate can be influenced by the volume of applications. School programs will have matriculation targets tied to budget expectations.
Overall, don't worry about acceptance rates. Spend your time submitting your best application. You never know, it could be your turn to get admitted!
All the best!
Kellee
Overall, don't worry about acceptance rates. Spend your time submitting your best application. You never know, it could be your turn to get admitted!
All the best!
Kellee
Updated
Neil’s Answer
The acceptance rate shows the college's selectivity, not quality. While it may be, tempting to correlate a more selective acceptance rate to a higher quality experience, it is important to remember that much of what you get out of college in terms of learning and growth, comes from the attention you as an individual give to your education and engagement. That said, focus on what the College can offer you, what clubs, classes, organizations, and opportunities it can provide you. Look at other factors too to determine quality, such as graduation rate, student-to-faculty ratio, and the quality of the community the college is located in. Use the acceptance rate only to determine your chances of acceptance.
Robert Rossi
Many things! But mostly chemistry and chemical engineering
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Robert’s Answer
I want to second the statements others made about this, but expand upon them to urge you not to pay any attention whatsoever to USNews and World Distort's college rankings and similar lists. These are either popularity contests or based on data that may be (though often is not) generally correlated with "quality," however you might interpret that term, but certainly not predictive. Case in point, there is a local university I have taught at that specializes in helping students who have had trouble in high school. They are amazing at turning applicants that nobody else wants into amazing superstars, as well as doing a great job teaching "strong" applicants. But on paper and in most rankings, they don't look very good because they have a "weak" applicant pool. Nonetheless, it is a great school, especially if you are one of those unattractive applicants with a lot of potential and willing to really work hard in college. It provides the environment that nurtures that and allows you to succeed, whereas you would be very likely to fail at an "elite" institution. I have also taught at elite institutions like CalTech and Carleton. They are great...for the right type of student. Very few students are actually a good fit for CalTech, and if Carleton is a "reach" for you it is unlikely you will thrive there. Don't go where your friends go, or where you hear is great...apply widely, accept that a good admissions process will only let you in if you are "right" for the school, visit the schools you get into (avoid the tours and just poke around!), and go with YOUR gut about where you will LEARN the best, not necessarily have the most fun, though having fun learning is the best way to do so. Your parents may want what is best for you, but sadly they usually are the biggest suckers and fools when it comes to choosing a college..they drink the college tour lemonade. Good luck!
Updated
James’s Answer
This one is a little tricky. If a college has a high acceptance rate, it's possible that the quality of education can be good, but it will likely not be elite. There is a flip side to that coin. If a school has a low acceptance rate, that does not mean it's elite. There is not a direct correlation between acceptance rate and quality of education.