2012 Has Record-Low Admissions Rates

2012 was an extremely hard year to get into college.

Ivy league institutions such as Harvard and Yale posted record-low admissions rates, 5.9% and 6.8% respectively. Other competitive institutions also posted historically selective percentages.

Why the low numbers? It is because everyone is so incredible.

"We had another extraordinary applicant pool, and another challenging selection process," Yale's dean of undergraduate admissions Jeffrey Brenzel told CNN Money. "We could not make offers to a large number of immensely talented young men and women."

Check out some REALLY hard schools to get into.

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Comments

[College Prof]

07:09 PM on 04/20/2012

College is the most overrated experience one can.....oh, nevermind.

[dquandle]

02:51 AM on 04/20/2012

Perhaps universities ought to stop accepting students all together. What could be more elite than a school for which nobody was good enough. After all, being elite is what education's all about.
The Bush/Obama/Duncan Ed. biz didn't adopt the motto "race to the toilet" for nothing.

[Tsuroyu]

12:41 AM on 04/20/2012

Oh look, there's the Huffington Post, looking for yet another excuse to post yet another list of the Ivy schools. How exciting. And while we're at it, let's do everything in our power to perpetuate the idea that only students that go to these schools (after all, there the ones that made the list!) are worth a damn.

Next time someone has an idea for an exciting slideshow of "The Top Colleges That Everyone Wants To Go To," just make the article read: "The Ivy League." Done. Less time spent preparing the "article," less time wasted looking at it.

[Tsuroyu]

03:46 PM on 04/20/2012

*they're the ones...

Apparently, I didn't qualify for the SPell grant, either.

[HipHopSays]

12:34 AM on 04/20/2012

if the ivies can't 'afford' to open up their coffers for 'great' candidates then we know the economy is anemic still.

[Macus]

11:36 PM on 04/19/2012

oh you mean pretty much the same schools that I imagined. Surprise Surprise!!

[goldengirl43]

11:06 PM on 04/19/2012

Pretty easy to get into these schools if you are a 1%er legacy, like He Who Shall Not Be Named. Of course, it was even pretty easy for this clown to become President of the United States, too. All it took was five of Dad's pals to take care of that.

And people wonder why the country is so ####ed up.

[cabaretchatnoir]

08:09 PM on 04/19/2012

Pitzer College had a lower acceptance rate then Cornell. :P

[Notsosurearewe]

07:26 PM on 04/19/2012

These are for undergraduate acceptance? Or is it overall acceptance?

[Tom Joad]

07:03 PM on 04/19/2012

...Amherst is approximately 4%...

[cabaretchatnoir]

08:09 PM on 04/19/2012

Um...no, nice try.

[Mouse718]

06:38 PM on 04/19/2012

I'd say don't make your life miserable with stress as a kid and teenager to try for one of these schools. There is just no need, you can have a happy, productive, financially secure life by attending your state university. And for state U all you need is average or above average grades and SAT scores, not to be a member of every activity in high school, a sports star, 100 volunteer activities, etc. Sure, if you want a shot at an elite career with tons of competition, you probably have to go to a fancy school and successfully network, but you don't NEED an elite career in life either.

[chris hatala]

06:03 AM on 04/20/2012

That's if the state u's are still around after the tpubs keep cutting education funding. They only want the rich to be educated, the group they are paid to protect and serve.

[waytall921]

06:32 PM on 04/19/2012

Lower acceptance rates may also be due to an increased number of applications by less qualified students. Taking an AP class or two? Apply to Harvard. Have a decent SAT score? Try Stanford. Plus, lots of students "spaghetti" applications, applying to many schools in the hope that one "sticks" and they're accepted. Nonetheless, there are some exceptional students out there who will thrive no matter where they go.

[Mouse718]

06:45 PM on 04/19/2012

exactly! they collect a fee with every app and the more apps they get, the lower % they can accept and the more elite they can look.

[Kyle Noe]

09:29 PM on 04/19/2012

Remember though that it's not easy to apply, so those who have a legitimate chance are the ones mostly applying (for the rest, it's just too much of a hassle). You have to write supplemental essays specific to the university, take 2-3 SAT subject tests, get two teacher recommendations and a counselor recommendation/report, send in a midyear report, do an interview, send a transcript, send all your scores, do the CSS profile in addition to the FAFSA, etc. Stanford has also said that 90% of the applicant are qualified to attend.

[teatwerp]

06:26 PM on 04/19/2012

a smart person will do well in life regardless of where he or she went to college.

[r3000]

08:23 PM on 04/19/2012

But a less-smart person could really use a diploma from one of these schools!

[Clarabell]

10:02 PM on 04/19/2012

Yes, if they come from a certain background (privileged) -- otherwise the competition can get stiff!

[golden758]

06:21 PM on 04/19/2012

Stanford. beat out Yale .. just saying

[nherent]

06:11 PM on 04/19/2012

I'm just glad plebes like me were able get a degree at a university, and land a nice job afterwards. I coudn't have done tt without the Pell grant, wich someRrepublicans want to kill.

[h jablome]

07:17 PM on 04/19/2012

looks like you were unqualified for a Spell grant.

[nherent]

09:29 PM on 04/19/2012

Oh, I can spell.....I just can't type.

[hagagaga]

05:52 PM on 04/19/2012

Anybody surprised?

[SalesmanForLife]

06:00 PM on 04/19/2012

Every society has its ladders. Come on.......