Second-tier colleges ‘The New Ivies’

Thursday, September 1, 2011


BY GERALD M. BRADSHAW
gerald_bradshaw@post.harvard.edu
Bradshaw College Consulting
(219) 663-3041

Dear Mr. Bradshaw:


I am putting together a list of colleges to apply to this fall and I have heard that I should consider a few backup college choices, in the event that I do not get admitted to one of my top choices. So far I have 20 top tier colleges on my list, but I plan to pare that down to 10 or 12. My concern is that all of them rank at or near the top in the college rankings. My guidance counselor tells me that even second-tier colleges are becoming more selective and suggested that I take that into consideration when I select my backup schools. I would like to hear your thoughts.

High school senior

Second-tier colleges ‘the new Ivies’

Dear High School Senior: arvard, Yale, Dartmouth and the other Ivy League colleges are considered first-tier schools and are very difficult to gain admission to even with an outstanding academic record. Admission rates range from 6.1 percent at Harvard to 13 percent at Dartmouth.

Many students fail to realize that second-tier colleges can be as admissions-competitve as first tier schools and that each year the gap in admissions percentages is narrowing. Northwestern and Notre Dame are generally considered second-tier colleges with admission rates of 27 percent and 29 percent, respectively, but many students who apply to these schools as backups are rejected even though they have records similar to those of students admitted to the Ivy League. With the huge increase in outstanding international applicants at top colleges, second-tier colleges are now considered “the new Ivies.”

Most estimates are that 30 to 40 universities like Northwestern and Notre Dame actually benefit by admitting students turned down from schools like Harvard and Princeton because the academic records of these students have helped them climb in the overall rankings.

Many students are shocked when they are rejected or waitlisted by a second-tier college. Students who may not get admitted to Northwestern, Notre Dame, NYU, Washington University in St. Louis, Rice, Emory or Georgetown are grateful that they picked backup colleges where admission is all but assured.

One of the reasons that admission to top tier schools is getting more difficult is simply one of supply and demand. The number of students graduating from high school has been increasing, and more students are interested in applying to top universities. Many high achieving students also are applying to more colleges than in the past — hedging their bets due to the uncertainty of admissions.

The overflow of students applying to second-tier colleges also has created its own spillover. Many state colleges and universities are seeing their rankings increase because students with higher grades and test scores are enrolling.

Listen to your high school counselor and think more broadly about the college application process. You need a good backup school to depend on.

College Admissions Consulting Articles - Second-tier colleges ‘the new Ivies’

Ivy League colleges report influx of British students

America's Ivy League colleges are reportedly experiencing an influx of British students, with increased tuition fees and dropping standards cited as the main reasons.

Harvard University has seen a jump in the number of applications from Britain of more than a third in 12 months, the Telegraph reports.

The college, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has received 500 applications from U.K. students for undergraduate courses this autumn, the Guardian reports.

Figures from seven big U.S. colleges show that enrollments of Brits at Yale and Princeton have doubled in five years.

According to the Telegraph:

Yale enrolled 36 British students onto undergraduate courses last year, up from 25 in 2009 – a 44 per cent rise. Five years ago, in 2006, just 15 students enrolled.

Some 197 students from England and Wales alone have applied to start courses at Cornell this autumn, up from 176 last year.

Information from Columbia University shows that 178 British students enrolled in 2009, up from 164 in 2008 and 151 in 2003.

And it's not only the Ivy League being sought-after.

Berkeley University, which is not an Ivy League college, has had 166 British applications for this autumn, compared with 130 last year.

Indiana, another leading, non-Ivy League institution, had nine British applications for this autumn, compared with seven last year.

Meanwhile, one of Europe’s leading universities — Maastricht in the Netherlands — has reported a 10-fold rise in the number of applications from Britain.

A limit on places for British students at English universities — coupled with the prospect of fees being raised to 9,000 pounds ($14,600) in 2012 — is fueling the rise.

While the cost of studying at an Ivy League university for a U.K. student can reach $60,000 a year, students are reportedly concerned about overcrowding and other considerations.

Andrew Halls, the head teacher at a leading British private school, King's College, told the Guardian:

"There is a bit of a sense that UK universities are creaking at the limits. Our 13- to 16-year-olds are talking about applying to US universities much more than they used to. There's a feeling that [if you go to a UK university that is not Oxbridge], you may not get as much teaching as you would like.

"US universities emphasize the 'whole man.' They love to hear about students playing the piano and other extra-curricular activities. They want a fulsomeness that Oxbridge and others seem distrustful of. Quite a lot of parents say this is the reason they are prepared to make a big financial sacrifice and pay for a U.S. university."

Original Article - United Kingdom