4 ms·

How much of dropping acceptance rates is simply due to students applying to more colleges? I know when I applied a few years ago, I was able to apply to over a

How much of dropping acceptance rates is simply due to students applying to more colleges? I know when I applied a few years ago, I was able to apply to over a dozen colleges simply because they all used a very similar electronic application form. [1] Were these sorts of services available, or as widely used in 2006? [1]: https://www.commonapp.org/ https://www.commonapp.org/

chrisseaton 7y ago
> I was able to apply to over a dozen colleges How did you find time to visit over a dozen colleges?
- ilikehurdles 7y ago
  I applied first and visited later. Applying is cheaper than visiting, usually.
- leetcrew 7y ago
  you don't have to visit a school to apply. I didn't bother visiting most of my safety schools. also most of the schools I applied to either didn't do interviews or they were informational only (ie, they are only considered as an additional signal of interest).
- smrk007 7y ago
  None of them required an interview. Some offered an optional interview, which I would do if I was particularly interested in a college, but it was by no means required.
  - chrisseaton 7y ago
    If the admissions system is easy and you don't need to physically visit or interview to apply to a college, why doesn't everyone literally apply to all colleges to cast the net as wide as possible? If everyone did that it'd turn the system around and have the colleges bidding for and trying to attract you. In the UK they only let you apply to some small number of colleges (universities), and only let you apply to one elite college.
    - astura 7y ago
      It costs money for each school you apply to. The fee is presumably to discourage this behavior.
      - deleted 7y ago
        [deleted]
    - deleted 7y ago
      [deleted]
    - smrk007 7y ago
      You still have to pay an administrative fee to apply (Usually around $70). So, you COULD apply to all the colleges, but then you would have to pay thousands of dollars in admissions fees. You can sometimes get the fee waived if you are below some income level, so maybe there's something to that. The only time barrier really is application essays.
    - mrep 7y ago
      Each application costs money though (about $50 a piece when I was applying)
    - alteria 7y ago
      Like other mention, it costs a good chunk of money, but also you may have to write supplemental statements for each school depending on the application system they use.
- creaghpatr 7y ago
  If you live in Boston or New York, it's much more doable than if you live in say, Iowa.
- akhilcacharya 7y ago
  Not OP but I know lots of people that applied to colleges they never visited. With that said, I also know lots of people that visited lots of colleges, doing a road trip or something spring break during high school. I didn’t and honestly don’t know why someone would.
  - chrisseaton 7y ago
    I can't understand why you'd uproot your entire life and move to somewhere for at least four years and set the tone of your social and professional life, based on somewhere you couldn't even be bothered to visit.
    - screye 7y ago
      Might be the other-way around. Apply to many universities that interest you, and then go visit the ones that give admits.
    - bluGill 7y ago
      Getting away from your comfortable home is a good thing. Once you have agreed to leave everything you know and move it doesn't matter where you go. Visiting local schools is important because you need to ensure that the details work. Can you get from your parents home to class during rush hour? Can you get from class to your weekend job? If you are going far away from home though, who cares. What you can do in Fargo North Dakota are very different what you can do in Maui Hawaii, but either way you there are plenty of things to do. You will find out when you get there. If forced to either you will find something you like that you didn't know before. You will meet new friends.
      - chrisseaton 7y ago
        You can have very different lifestyle in different communities. Moving blind to somewhere you have no understanding of is a recipe for unhappiness when you find it doesn’t suit you due to climate, politics, economics, etc. For example moving to a college and realising you can’t get anywhere in the area without driving and you’re a walking person.
mhb 7y ago
TFA?: 3.3: Could the issue be increasing number of applications per student?

chrisseaton 7y ago

> I was able to apply to over a dozen colleges How did you find time to visit over a dozen colleges?

ilikehurdles 7y ago
I applied first and visited later. Applying is cheaper than visiting, usually.
leetcrew 7y ago
you don't have to visit a school to apply. I didn't bother visiting most of my safety schools. also most of the schools I applied to either didn't do interviews or they were informational only (ie, they are only considered as an additional signal of interest).
smrk007 7y ago
None of them required an interview. Some offered an optional interview, which I would do if I was particularly interested in a college, but it was by no means required.
- chrisseaton 7y ago
  If the admissions system is easy and you don't need to physically visit or interview to apply to a college, why doesn't everyone literally apply to all colleges to cast the net as wide as possible? If everyone did that it'd turn the system around and have the colleges bidding for and trying to attract you. In the UK they only let you apply to some small number of colleges (universities), and only let you apply to one elite college.
  - astura 7y ago
    It costs money for each school you apply to. The fee is presumably to discourage this behavior.
    - deleted 7y ago
      [deleted]
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
  - smrk007 7y ago
    You still have to pay an administrative fee to apply (Usually around $70). So, you COULD apply to all the colleges, but then you would have to pay thousands of dollars in admissions fees. You can sometimes get the fee waived if you are below some income level, so maybe there's something to that. The only time barrier really is application essays.
  - mrep 7y ago
    Each application costs money though (about $50 a piece when I was applying)
  - alteria 7y ago
    Like other mention, it costs a good chunk of money, but also you may have to write supplemental statements for each school depending on the application system they use.
creaghpatr 7y ago
If you live in Boston or New York, it's much more doable than if you live in say, Iowa.
akhilcacharya 7y ago
Not OP but I know lots of people that applied to colleges they never visited. With that said, I also know lots of people that visited lots of colleges, doing a road trip or something spring break during high school. I didn’t and honestly don’t know why someone would.
- chrisseaton 7y ago
  I can't understand why you'd uproot your entire life and move to somewhere for at least four years and set the tone of your social and professional life, based on somewhere you couldn't even be bothered to visit.
  - screye 7y ago
    Might be the other-way around. Apply to many universities that interest you, and then go visit the ones that give admits.
  - bluGill 7y ago
    Getting away from your comfortable home is a good thing. Once you have agreed to leave everything you know and move it doesn't matter where you go. Visiting local schools is important because you need to ensure that the details work. Can you get from your parents home to class during rush hour? Can you get from class to your weekend job? If you are going far away from home though, who cares. What you can do in Fargo North Dakota are very different what you can do in Maui Hawaii, but either way you there are plenty of things to do. You will find out when you get there. If forced to either you will find something you like that you didn't know before. You will meet new friends.
    - chrisseaton 7y ago
      You can have very different lifestyle in different communities. Moving blind to somewhere you have no understanding of is a recipe for unhappiness when you find it doesn’t suit you due to climate, politics, economics, etc. For example moving to a college and realising you can’t get anywhere in the area without driving and you’re a walking person.

mhb 7y ago

TFA?: 3.3: Could the issue be increasing number of applications per student?