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13 Colleges Where It’s Hard to Get Accepted

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Source: US News Education

The U.S. News Short List, separate from our overall rankings, is a regular series that magnifies individual data points in hopes of providing students and parents a way to find which undergraduate or graduate programs excel or have room to grow in specific areas. Be sure to explore The Short List: College, The Short List: Grad School and The Short List: Online Programs to find data that matter to you in your college or grad school search.

Applicants to the nation’s most selective colleges face a formidable challenge. These college hopefuls must distinguish themselves among thousands of other bright, high-achieving students, so even sterling academic credentials may not be sufficient for them to get into their dream schools.

But students who are anxious about their admissions prospects may find it reassuring to know that a majority of colleges are not exclusive schools. In fact, at more than 1,000 of the 1,268 ranked undergraduate institutions that provided fall 2017 acceptance rate statistics to U.S. News in an annual survey, a majority of applicants were admitted. The average acceptance rate among all ranked schools that participated in the U.S. News Best Colleges survey was 66 percent.

However, there is no sugarcoating the fact that getting into top colleges can be incredibly difficult. At each of the 13 schools with the lowest acceptance rates in fall 2017, fewer than 1 in 10 applicants were admitted. The average acceptance rate among these highly selective schools was only 7 percent.

Two institutions on the list are National Liberal Arts Colleges, schools that emphasize undergraduate education and award at least half of their degrees in liberal arts disciplines. The remaining schools are National Universities, research-focused institutions that offer a variety of undergraduate majors plus an array of master’s and doctoral degrees.
Among these 13 schools, eight are located on the East Coast, three on the West Coast and two in the Midwest.

Admissions experts say that applicants should understand that highly competitive schools scrutinize every portion of the college application, including not only test scores and grades but also admissions essays and recommendation letters. Experts also suggest that applicants with lofty ambitions consider applying to both highly ranked universities and liberal arts colleges, since the chances of getting into any particular school of this caliber is very small.

Below is a list of the 13 colleges where it was most difficult to gain acceptance in fall 2017. Unranked schools, which did not meet certain criteria required by U.S. News to be numerically ranked, were not considered for this report.

School (state) Fall 2017 acceptance rate U.S. News rank and category
Harvard University (MA) 5% 2, National Universities
Stanford University (CA) 5% 7, National Universities
Columbia University (NY) 6% 3 (tie), National Universities
Princeton University (NJ) 6% 1, National Universities
Massachusetts Institute of Technology 7% 3 (tie), National Universities
Yale University (CT) 7% 3 (tie), National Universities
California Institute of Technology 8% 12 (tie), National Universities
Pomona College (CA) 8% 5 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges
United States Naval Academy (MD) 8% 22 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges
Brown University (RI) 9% 14 (tie), National Universities
Northwestern University (IL) 9% 10 (tie), National Universities
University of Chicago 9% 3 (tie), National Universities
University of Pennsylvania 9% 8 (tie), National Universities

 

How to Master SAT Paired Passages (Source: US News Education)

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Reading comprehension, rhetorical and synthesis skills are all key when taking the reading section of the SAT.

The redesigned SAT’s reading section includes a single set of paired passages. Paired passages assess reading comprehension and synthesis skills via questions that require students to compare and contrast two passages.

Students who are unfamiliar with paired passages or who struggle with synthesis may be uncertain about how to approach this portion of the SAT reading test.

Recognize that paired passages are identifiable. When taking the SAT, it will be apparent when you have arrived at the paired passage questions. The instructions will state, “Questions x-y are based on the following passages.”

You will also notice that the two passages appear back-to-back across several columns. Due to this predictable layout, you will not need to devote a great deal of time to evaluating which passages are paired.

Also keep in mind that paired passages only cover certain areas: science (biology, chemistry, Earth science and physics) and history (founding U.S. documents and global texts). The discipline that the passage relates to should serve as another indicator that it is a paired passage.

Address items that focus on each individual passage before answering synthesis questions. Paired passage questions appear in a specific order.

The synthesis questions should be completed last, once you have a strong understanding of both texts.

Note that synthesis items may assess passage content or rhetorical strategies. The paired passages portion of the SAT includes a variety of question types. Questions can be content-based, or they can assess rhetorical strategies.

Content questions may require you to summarize the main idea, recall details or understand vocabulary in context. Rhetorical strategy questions, in contrast, may test for items like the author’s intent or tone.

To get better at answering content questions, students should practice reading for main ideas. Helpful exercises include summarizing each paragraph in one sentence and underlining thesis statements.

Students can improve on rhetorical strategy questions by reading for main ideas as well. However, in addition to reading more efficiently, students must take time to familiarize themselves with common rhetorical strategies such as metaphors or allusions.

By familiarizing yourself with paired passages, you can see that they are not that different from the other readings in this section of the SAT, and you can set yourself up for success accordingly.