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The reason why you get this kind of behavior from advanced degree programs is (you probably guessed it) rankings. When "acceptance rate" is one of the factors
by hkmurakami 13y ago
The reason why you get this kind of behavior from advanced degree programs is (you probably guessed it) rankings.
When "acceptance rate" is one of the factors in your ability to inch up those of so precious rankings, marketing yourself to applicants in this fashion suddenly makes sense. Sure, you'd like the best, most qualified applicants to matriculate. But more immediately, you have a need to inflate the number of applicants to your school, keep the number of seats constant, and make your program look "more competitive" to get into.
IMO this kind of short cutting may work in the short term, but erodes the quality of the student body in the long run.
Whenever you see "has been investing heavily in their marketing efforts" from a graduate program, I take it as a warning sign that something might be cookin' in the kitchen.
- snoonan 13y agoRight, the incentive is to reject the highest possible number of applicants. The system is built around reducing friction for applying while rejecting almost all of those people as cheaply and easily as possible. I wouldn't be surprised if some schools create entire "pre-disqualified" marketing funnels specifically designed to automatically reject everyone.
- Selfcommit 13y ago>I wouldn't be surprised if some schools create entire "pre-disqualified" marketing funnels specifically designed to automatically reject everyone. That thought really just rocked my world. It's just crazy enough to be true. Why else would they turn away a paying customer?
- hkmurakami 13y ago>"reducing friction for applying" Awesome phrase. Completely agree. In fact I personally know of graduate programs that have reduced their recommendation letter and essay requirements for this reason!