Your Guide to the Top-10 Ranked Colleges: A Comprehensive Overview

Webinar Transcription

2023-03-07 – Your Guide to the Top-10 Ranked Colleges: A Comprehensive Overview

Lonnie: Hello, everyone. Welcome to CollegeAdvisor’s, Your Guide to the Top 10 Ranked Colleges: A Comprehensive Overview.” To orient everyone with the webinar timing, we’ll start with a presentation, then we’ll answer your questions in a live Q& A. On the sidebar, you can download our slides and you can start submitting your questions in the Q& A tab.

Now let’s meet our panelist.

Chelsea: Good evening, everyone. My name is Chelsea Holley, and I serve as an admissions officer here at CollegeAdvisor. Um, so I work one on one with students, uh, who are looking to get into selective institutions. Um, I’ve spent my career in college admissions for, um, About the past 12 years working at a number of institutions, um, doing selective admissions, um, pre college program development and all things, um, preparing students and families to get admitted into the school of their choice.

Uh, so really excited about this topic today. And I know you all are too. Um, there is a poll on the screen. Um, we’d love to know what grade you’re in. Um, that can help me continue to tailor the message to you. So I’ll give you all some time to answer that.

Lonnie: Thank you. So, yes, I launched the poll, um, and we are starting to get the responses in.

Uh, so we have 65 percent of our participants are in the 11th grade. So pretty good number of 11th grade students. And then followed by that, we have some 10th grade students, 18%, and then 10 percent 9th grade. Um, we also have some representation from middle school. So, tonight. Very cool. And then we have other which could be a parent or guardian.

Uh, so I will turn it back over to you. Thanks Lonnie.

Chelsea: Um, so yeah, that, that is super helpful, um, for juniors. You all are certainly in the sweet spot of starting to look at different colleges and put together your college application strategy. Um, and for those of you that are younger than the junior year, um, you are in a great position because you actually have some time to shape your strategy and shape the things that you’re doing as well.

Um, so today we are going to talk about the top 10 ranked colleges. Um, we’ll go through this list and talk a little bit about some of the characteristics. of each of these 10 schools. But most importantly, we’re going to talk about what rankings mean, how rankings come to be, which rankings you should trust, which ones you shouldn’t trust, and how you should use rankings in your overall college admissions strategy.

The thing to know, these top ranked colleges are highly selective institutions. I will get into the acceptance rate of each of these. Um, but they actually have a lot of differences, but they have a lot of things in common. And so we’ll talk, um, about a general approach for schools on this list and schools like, uh, colleges on this list.

So let’s get into the top 10 ranked colleges. One thing that you will notice is that there are ties. Um, so you have a couple colleges on this list that are tying for a specific spot. I will talk about how there’s a tie on a top 10 ranked list. Um, so number one, we have Princeton University. Number two, we have Massachusetts Institute of Technology or MIT.

Number three, we have Harvard University. Tied at number three, we have Stanford University. And tied at number three again, we have Yale University. Um, when there’s a tie, it skips down to the next number. So coming in at number six, we have University of Chicago. Coming in at number seven, we have John Hopkins University.

Tied for number seven, we have the University of Pennsylvania. Number nine, we have California Institute of Technology or Caltech. And number 10, we have Duke University. So, let’s talk about what this list means, um, who comes up with this list, and, and, and how it might change from year to year. So, the first thing to note is that many different sources rank colleges.

So this is similar to doing a research paper and making sure that you have a reputable source to cite. You always want to look for a reputable source if someone is claiming a ranking. Um, the most widely cited The second most cited college ranking site and resource is U.S. News and World Report. Um, one of the reasons for that is that they have been doing this for the longest.

Um, and you’ll find that colleges, um, will often refer to U. S. News as their primary source of rankings. So if you go on their website, you’ll likely see them citing U.S. News and World Report. So this isn’t a Excellent website to use as a resource to begin navigating, um, different things about the colleges that you’re interested in, especially if they’re highly ranked colleges.

The second one is we’re talking about the top 10 colleges today and that is the overall ranking. Um, but the categories vary you are going to find rankings out there for anything that you can imagine. Um, there will be study abroad program rankings. There will be campus life, um, supporting first generation students.

There will be rankings for, um, living and learning communities. Um, so the list goes on and on. So you want to be sure if you’re asking about a ranking or noting a ranking, um, what it is that they’re ranking this, this institution for, um, because those lists will vary quite drastically depending on what the category is.

The next thing to know is that there are both qualitative and quantitative measures that go into a college’s ranking. And so an example of a qualitative measure is that U.S. News and World Report interviews Peer institutions to find out how they feel about a certain school. How is the school performing?

How is it working with them? What kind of research is coming out of this institution? Um, so that’s something that’s qualitative. Um, they’re collecting interview data to go into their final decision. And then we have a lot of measures that are quantitative. These are your numbers. Um, this is the graduation rate, the student retention rate.

Um, the amount of financial resources available for each student. These are numbers that are very specific. So these two measures go into creating rankings. One of the really great things about U. S. News and World Report is is if you go to the site of the college that you’re researching, there is a link that tells you exactly what the ranking is made up of.

So what are all of the measures that were included that guarantees that this this school has this ranking? So I definitely encourage you to dig into what goes into a ranking, um, especially if you are building a list, um, revolving around rankings, or if you’re having conversation about getting into the top ranked colleges, you want to know what those rankings are made up of.

The next thing to know, and this is super important, is that rankings change every year. So this top 10 list that you see here today may not be the top 10 list. October. So typically in the fall is when, um, college rankings, uh, roll out and that is because they have an opportunity to capture the data from the previous year.

Um, and you may see some variation now, and I will say the top 20, uh, Schools typically stay in the top 20 with some movement around, but the top three school this year may not be the top three school next year. They may be down at number six. And so there’s a lot of movement in that top 10 list. So be prepared to see that, um, and checking rankings and seeing how schools move through the rankings list.

be an important part of your research that you’re doing each fall. Um, so for juniors, that will be right during your application process. Um, but these rankings come out in a pretty predictable schedule over, um, each year. So today we’re talking specifically about top 10 colleges over the year. So there is not a specific measure that we’re using.

We’re looking at all kinds of metrics. So, um, again, they are including graduation and student retention rates, um, graduate performance. So what kinds of jobs that students are getting once they leave that institution? Um, the academic reputation. So again, that’s from those peer, um, Um, institution surveys, uh, faculty resources.

So what’s, what’s the student to faculty ratio? Um, what are faculty up to in their own disciplines? Um, and then they also look at student selectivity in the entering class. So, um, acceptance rates for this list that we’re going to go through are very low. Um, and I’ll talk a little bit about like really what that means and how you navigate those, those really low acceptance rates.

But that goes into the overall ranking, um, financial resources per student. So, uh, what kind of scholarship funds are available for students at the institution. And then last graduate indebtedness. And that essentially means, um, our students in debt when they leave that institution. So that is a comprehensive list of everything that goes into the top 10 overall rankings.

Um, now let’s dig into. The schools that we’ll be looking at tonight. So one thing that you want to do, um, before you look at a list of rankings is finding out, um, what college is going to best serve your goals and rankings. So while this list is Objective one to ten, the number one school for one student will not be the number one school for someone else.

So it’s incredibly important for you to think about your major, think about your interests, think about where your ideal institution is located, and that can help you sift through the rankings as well. So the first thing that I want to cover to put this list in context is that These schools, all colleges, fall into three categories as a student who is applying.

And here at CollegeAdvisor, we help students build a college list. And on your college list, we typically will divide your schools into three categories. Safety schools, target schools, and reach schools. Safety means there is a good chance based on the academic profile of that school and of your own personal academic profile that you’ll get in.

It’s a safe bet. Uh, we’re not saying it’s guaranteed, but it’s pretty likely that you’re going to get into this particular school. A target, um, is not a safety school. Um, you may be in the realm. of their academic profile. Um, and so we would call that a target. So you have a good chance of getting in. Um, but there’s still some additional factors.

It may be that the acceptance rate is a bit lower. Um, and so it’s overall a little bit more competitive to get in, but it’s a target school when it is a logical school that you have a chance at. Gaining admissions in now reach schools. The schools that we’re talking about today are absolutely reach schools and reach schools are reach schools for everybody.

And the reason why reach, um, is a reach school for everybody is because the acceptance rates are just that low. We’ll talk about what they are in a second, but typically anything under, Uh, certainly 10%. Um, but even under 20 percent begins to get pretty selective. The schools that we’ll talk about tonight all have single digit acceptance rates.

And so if you are looking at applying to one of these institutions, it is a reach. because it is that competitive where they are rejecting far more applicants than they are admitting. Um, and so you must have a balanced list if you are looking at any of these top 10 schools, because we do not want you to only apply to reach schools and for it not to end up how you would like.

So one of the things that we counsel students on is really having a balanced list that gives them some opportunities. Next we’ll talk a little bit about institutional types. Um, so for each of the schools, I’ve, uh, listed kind of what the campus is like, what the size is, and that will inform your experience.

So you want to know how many undergraduate students are on a campus. You want to know what is the environment. Is it rural? Is it a college town? Is it urban? All of those things are incredibly important to your own experience. Um, and the best way to do that is to visit campus. Um, so after this session, you may already know some of the colleges you’re interested in.

Um, and I encourage you to get on their campus early and often if they stay on your list. Getting on a campus is an amazing way to see if a campus is a true fit for you outside of just hearing their description on this webinar. You should definitely research individual majors. We’ll also cover each of the most popular majors at our top 10 colleges and then absolutely ask questions.

So go to the campus tours, go to the information sessions, but don’t hesitate to reach out and send an email. To your admissions counselor or anybody else at the institution that can happen is that they don’t respond. And that literally is the worst that could happen. If they respond to you, they are likely going to be sharing some really great information that you may not have had if you didn’t reach out.

So definitely ask questions. Okay, so let’s get into the number one, uh, ranked college for the current year, uh, Princeton University. So Princeton is a private institution, um, and in fact, every college on this list is a private institution. Um, and there are some shared characteristics that come along with private colleges, um, but in short, Princeton They tend to be more expensive.

Um, they, uh, typically have an air of prestige at a private college. Um, and oftentimes they can be smaller than a large public institution. Princeton has a number, or I’m sorry, Princeton has a 4 percent acceptance rate. So again, um, Single digit. Um, I believe that may be the lowest on this list. I don’t think we have a 3%.

Um, but this is about close to as low as it gets. Um, as far as acceptance rates. Um, Princeton has 8,478 undergraduate students. They also have graduate students, so you do want to make sure that you are inquiring about both. It is a suburban environment. It is cold. It’s in the northeast, but it’s a pretty large campus at 600 acres.

The most popular majors at Princeton are social sciences, engineering, computer sciences, social service and public administration, biology, and biomedical sciences. Um, so this is where the majority of students are majoring on Princeton’s campus.

And I do want to note that a good amount of the colleges on this list are considered Ivy League institutions. Princeton is considered an Ivy League institution. Um, Ivy Leagues are a set list of schools. They don’t vary from year to year. Um, they’ve always been Ivy League institutions and they will likely continue to be.

Um, and so I’ll point out the Ivy Leagues that are on this list. Um, as we go through it. The number two ranked college this year is MIT. MIT is also private. Um, they are located in Boston, Massachusetts, so it’s an urban campus. It’s in the city. Um, MIT is surrounded by a number of other, uh, amazing higher education opportunities, uh, like Boston College.

Um, and so you have more of a community of scholars in the Boston area. Um, similar to Princeton, very low acceptance rate at 4%, um, a little bit larger. So they have 11,934 undergraduate students. Um, and the top majors at MIT are computer science, mechanical engineering. mathematics, physics, and aerospace engineering.

So as you can see from this list, if we think back to Princeton, the list was a little bit more rounded out. You had social sciences in there. You had students that might have been interested in more of the humanities. This list is At 100 percent STEM, computer science, mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering.

Um, and so there is a true focus and expertise in these areas, uh, at MIT. Harvard University is one of three schools that are tied for number three on the top 10 ranked college list. Um, Harvard is also private and Harvard is an Ivy League institution. Um, Harvard, is likely the institution that folks think of first when they think of Ivy League schools.

Um, again, a 4 percent acceptance rate, um, 7,153 undergraduate students. Um, and another note on the population. So, the smaller the school, the fewer space spaces or seats that they have in the incoming class. Um, and so the size of the school does give you some insight also to the level of selectivity because small schools typically want to stay small and big schools typically want to stay big or grow.

Um, and so that does give you some insight. Top majors at Harvard, um, more similar to Princeton than MIT. So again, social sciences is number one, biomedical sciences, mathematics, computer science, history. Um, you have a lot of students interested in Harvard that want to go into law, that want to go into medicine.

Um, and so you see, um, a major list that’s not so, so STEM heavy.

The 2nd college that is tied for number 3 on the top 10 ranked list is Stanford University. Stanford is also private. Um, Stanford is in Stanford, California, the Palo Alto area. They have a 4 percent acceptance rate. So, um, we, we keep hearing and seeing 4%. Um, the acceptance rates at Ivy League schools have dropped pretty drastically over the past couple of years.

So 4 percent has been an all time low for most of these schools. Um, some of these schools have caught in some flack for how low the acceptance rates are. Um, and so I don’t think that they want to go into the 2 percent and 1%. Um, But 4 percent is, is quite low, and the lowest that it’s been, um, historically.

Stanford, again, another Ivy League institution, undergraduate enrollment, uh, a little over 7,000. Um, they have its urban campus here, I think it’s, uh, It’s more urban adjacent, so really close to all of the Bay Area attractions and San Francisco, but it has somewhat of a suburban feel on the campus as well.

Top majors, again, similar to some of the Ivy League institutions we’ve already covered, social sciences, biology, math, computer science, and history.

Yale is our final, uh, tied for number three institution. Um, Yale is also private, also an Ivy league institution located in New Haven, Connecticut. Um, New Haven is a suburban area in Connecticut. So in the Northeast. Um, and a suburban environment, uh, Yale has a 5 percent acceptance rate, so we’ve gone up, um, just 1 percent from the other schools that we’ve looked at, um, undergraduate enrollment, a little over 6, 000 and then top majors, social sciences, again, biomedical science, math, interdisciplinary studies and computer science.

Lonnie: Okay, Chelsea, we’re going to take a short pause so that we can. Get a sense of where our participants are in the college application process. So we know through the, um, earlier poll that, uh, most of our participants are in the 11th and 10th grade. So let us know where you are. Um, perhaps you haven’t seen it.

Start it, or maybe you’re researching schools, working on essays, getting your application material together. Let us know, but the application process is not just applying. That’s a part of the process. Even being here in this webinar is a part of you starting your application process too. Okay, so the results have they’re coming in so that we have 74 percent of our participants are researching their schools, which is really great to hear and then followed by that.

We have a few about 12 percent that are having started 10 percent working on their essays and about 2 percent getting their application material together.

Chelsea: Very good. Okay, so we’re about halfway through our list. Um, let’s work through the rest of our schools in the top 10 and then we’ll talk a little bit about strategy.

Um, I see Ezra has a, a great question in the chat about majors. We’ll talk about that shortly. Um, so University of Chicago comes in at number six on the top 10 list. Um, University of Chicago is in Chicago, Illinois. So a very urban environment. Um, I absolutely love Chicago. It’s one of my favorite cities, but it is a very cold city.

Um, so, uh, Students should also weigh whether when thinking about the University of Chicago. Um, it is a private institution, um, that is, uh, in Chicago proper, but has a pretty kind of suburban college town feel to the campus. Um, they have a 6 percent acceptance rate. So we are seeing these acceptance rates go up a little bit as we work further down into the top 10 list, um, a little over 7, 000 undergraduate students.

And, um, again, similar majors, uh, as some of the Ivy league schools, even though you Chicago is not an Ivy league institution, um, so top major social sciences, mathematics, and math. Biological Sciences, Physical Sciences, and Computer Science.

Johns Hopkins comes in at number seven. Um, John Hopkins is private in Baltimore, Maryland, and has an 8 percent acceptance rate. Um, a little over 6, 000 undergraduate students. Um, and these majors are absolutely for students that are interested in medicine. Um, which is what John Hopkins is known for. Um, so top majors are molecular biology, neuroscience, computer science, biomedical engineering, and public health.

University of Pennsylvania is tied for number seven, also private, um, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, um, another urban campus, a little bit larger, so, um, almost 10, 000 undergraduate students. They have a 6 percent acceptance rate. So again, um, this list is not based on acceptance rates alone. So you see Penn has a little bit of a lower acceptance rate than some of the schools before them.

Um, top majors, business, social sciences, health professions, biomedical sciences, and philosophy.

Um, going back over to the West Coast, we have Caltech. Caltech is private. It is in Pasadena, California, a very suburban environment. Um, a four percent acceptance rate. So, um, an acceptance rate reminiscent of the top five schools on this list. Um, but look at that undergraduate population, one of the smaller, uh, enrollment sizes that we’ve seen tonight, um, just over 2000 students, uh, top majors there are again, very STEM heavy, no surprise, computer science, engineering, physical sciences, mathematics, and biomedical science.

And then last but certainly not least, um, rounding out, uh, our top 10 list, we have the only East Coast school on this list that is not in the North. Um, I think folks debate whether North Carolina is a Southern, uh, state or not. Um, but it’s as close as we’re going to get to the South on this list. Duke University is private and located in Durham, North Carolina.

They have a 6 percent acceptance rate. Um, a little under 7,000 undergraduate students. And those top majors are computer science, public policy, biology, economics. In research psychology.

So how do you stand out in the college application for, for top 10 schools? So I want to say that, um, how you stand out at a top 10 school is not that much different than how you stand out at a top 20 school or a top 50 school. Um, the one thing to know is that. You need to start early in this process. Um, and and part of it is starting early in the research process, and part of it is starting early planning to be competitive at a, at a top rank school.

And when I say planning to be competitive, that means. Have you participated in organizations, um, summer programs, internships that are going to position you as a competitive applicant? Have you exhausted the academic rigor available at your high school? school? Um, because that’s something that admissions committees are looking for.

Did you challenge yourself giving your academic environment? Um, those are things that you kind of have to start a little bit earlier to do. So ninth graders and 10th graders, um, you are still in a sweet spot where you can pivot and make decisions that can transform your college experience. Um, and so starting early, both research wise and, um, making sure that you’re making the most out of your four years in high school is super important.

Um, the second piece here is, um, demonstrating interest. Some colleges actually include and consider whether you’ve demonstrated interest in the admissions process. Um, most of these schools do not, um, just because it would be pretty difficult to, um, face decisions even in part, um, for these highly sought after schools on demonstrated interest.

But the great thing about demonstrating interest, it’s also helpful for you. So demonstrating interest means reach out to an admissions counselor, attend an info session, follow them on social media, visit campus, do a summer program, um, Check all of those boxes because the more you know about the college, the better application you’re going to create.

So a lot of this is soaking in everything that you could possibly know about an institution and Allowing the application to draw parallels between who you are, what you’re passionate about, and what that institution values and what they’re doing on that campus. So the more you know, the better you are.

Um, understanding the school’s mission and values, that goes into just being well informed. Um, most of these schools will have some sort of essay that asks why this college, why are you interested in us? If you have trouble answering that question, you’re in trouble. You should know exactly why this institution is of interest to you, um, and why you would be a good fit there.

So practice articulating that. Lastly, research and identify optimal deadlines. Um, there are a few deadlines, um, that these are general and they can shift depending on the student. Um, but early decision, early action, and regular decision are typically the deadlines that you have to choose from. Um, some of the Ivy’s that you see here have, um, single choice early action.

And I won’t go into a ton of detail about what these are. Um, CollegeAdvisor has some examples. Tons of amazing articles and webinars that can walk you through exactly what each of these deadlines are. Um, but the important part is you want to know which deadline you’re going to choose and which one is going to be the most beneficial for you.

So early decision and early action are earlier, um, you find out earlier, but they can also be some of the more competitive cycles for a lot of these schools on this list. Regular decision, however, is typically the larger pool. Um, and so while you don’t have as many top applicants applying regular decision, you just have gobs and gobs of more people.

Um, and so knowing about each of these and, um, being organized and putting a plan for, for which one you will apply to is super important.

So, um, We’ll have some time for Q and A, but, um, if I had to share any last advice for applying to a top 10 school, first thing is create a balanced college list. So, again, that goes back to those safety target and reach schools. You want to make sure that there are a couple of each on your list colleges, students apply to anywhere from 10 to 12 colleges.

Thank you Um, so you have lots of room, and if you include the UC schools, some students get up to 20 and 25 colleges. Um, but you want to make sure that your list is balanced and, um, makes sense. Second piece, determining your testing, determining your testing plans. We are in a test optional environment where many colleges are not requiring standardized test scores.

Um, some of them are taking them into consideration, um, even though they are not required. So what you want to find out is what is the testing policy at the school that you’re interested in. What is the average test score for students who choose to submit their test scores? And you want to find out, um, and really put together your own testing strategy.

Are you going to attempt a test and get the best score possible? Are you only looking at schools that are test optional? That is really going to inform your strategy. And keep an eye out. A lot of schools are finalizing more permanent testing plans this year. Um, so it’s super important to check their websites, check their blogs because you may find that there is an update to their current testing policy.

And then lastly, this one, um, is the Good for both students and parents. Identify how finances might play into your ultimate decision. Um, so this list is an amazing list of wonderful institutions, but you also want to know for yourself and for your family, how are finances going to play into this decision?

Am I looking for schools that are going to meet my complete need? Um, Are my parents planning to pay out of pocket and do they have a budget that they’re working with? So we should only be looking at these certain schools. Um, this is a big piece of the ultimate decision. Um, knowing what kind of scholarships are offered and what those scholarship requirements are.

Um, that can ultimately shape your final decision.

Lonnie: Okay. Thank you, Chelsea. That now concludes the presentation portion of our webinar. Um, so I hope you found the information really useful and helpful. Um, and also remember that you can download the slides, um, from the link in the handouts tab. So we’re going to move on to our live Q and a. I will read through the questions you submitted in the Q& A tab, paste them into the public chat so you can see them, and then read them out loud before our panelist gives you an answer.

As a heads up, if your Q& A tab isn’t letting you submit your questions, Just double check that you joined the webinar through the custom link in your email and not the webinar landing page. Okay, so we’re going to jump into our first question. Does it help the admissions process if you chose a major that is not amongst the top majors at a college?

Chelsea: So really good question. Um, this kind of gets at strategy. Um, so another way of phrasing this question is, does it increase my chances if I am interested in a major that’s not a top major? Um, and the answer is, it depends. So the acceptance rates that you saw on tonight’s presentation are across majors on the campus.

You can ask, each of these colleges, what is the acceptance rate for this major? Engineering, computer science, business, and you may find some variation in between the college wide acceptance rate and the major acceptance rate. Um, so yes, um, the short answer is Yes, you can experience kind of different odds of getting in based on the major.

However, I would encourage you not to over strategize this process as tempting as it can be because let’s say you’re interested in computer science. That’s the major you want. That’s, you know, you’ve been in all of the CS clubs, you’ve been in competitions, but you think that that major is too hard to get into at MIT, so you decide to put, um, sociology on your application, for example.

An admissions officer is going to look at your application and think, hmm, this is weird. This person did all of these amazing things in computer science and nothing for the major that they said they wanted to major in. Um, there’s a mismatch here. Uh, this story doesn’t make sense. Um, this doesn’t feel authentic.

Why weren’t they also pursuing things in this other major? Um, so typically admissions offers Officers pick up on inconsistencies and what you say you want to major in and what you’ve done or what your profile looks like. Um, so I encourage you to, um, definitely research those. If it’s two majors you’re truly interested in, um, then by all means you, you could benefit from choosing a less popular major, but you want to make sure that your resume, your activities list, um, is.

Your class list also supports that decision to major in whatever the alternate major is.

Lonnie: Okay. Our next question is why are private universities ranked higher than public universities?

Chelsea: Yeah. Um, I want to think of a, uh, the most correct answer. So I want to say, I’ll say that they have more resources. So historically, private institutions have more resources. Um, so if we look back 100, 150 years ago, the people that were going to some of the schools on this list were the elite, um, those that could afford to pay.

Um, and so that wealth has Followed a lot of the private institutions. And so, um, they are well resourced to compete for students, well resourced to have the best faculty, um, to participate in research that continues to fund their endowments. Um, so typically that is, that is the long of, of why they’re, they’re dominating this rankings list.

But if we expanded this list out just a bit, And said, let’s look at top 30 schools. You will find more public institutions. Um, there are some benefits of public institutions as well. Um, uh, schools like a Georgia Institute of Technology, um, a leader in the engineering field, um, a public institution, some of the North Carolina schools, um, NC Chapel Hill, great public institution.

All of the UC schools. Um, so there are some really good public schools out there. Um, but I think longevity, um, has definitely padded the top part of this list.

Lonnie: Okay. Our next question is who are the members of the admissions committee?

Chelsea: So it depends on the school. Um, I think the, the most common makeup are admissions. officers. So your application is not being sent to the faculty and the chair and the dean and they’re making decisions in a room by themselves.

Sometimes faculty opinions are included in the committee and they have representation, but the majority of the people that will be reading and making decisions on your applications are professional, So people that have been trained in whatever the institution is looking for and their primary job responsibility is recruiting and selecting the class.

9 times out of 10, you will come into contact with the person that will be reading your application. If you go to a open house, if you follow their social media, if you are at a college fair, those are some of the same people that are going to be reading your application.

Lonnie: Can you please explain again the difference between early action An early decision, does it increase probability of acceptance?

Chelsea: Yes. So, um, early decision is a binding decision. So that means that if I apply and if I’m admitted, I have to enroll in that. institution and I must withdraw all of my other, um, applications.

So it’s a very serious commitment to the institution. Um, and it tells them two things. So from an institutional perspective, it says this person is definitely going to come if I submit them, um, or if I offer them an admissions, um, offer for you. It’s really closes in your options and says you must enroll.

If you are admitted, um, you can see early decision acceptance rates about 1 percent to 2 percent higher than some of these rates. But if we’re talking top 10 schools, the difference between a 4 percent acceptance rate and a 6 percent acceptance rate, it’s not worth making the decision unless it’s something that’s a good fit for you.

Lonnie: Okay. Our next question. Let’s see.

Okay. So, um, main difference again, between the top colleges that you presented. and other colleges in the country?

Chelsea: Um, short answer, not much. Um, this is the smallest percentage of institutions. There are over 2, 000 four year universities. in this country. Um, you know, let’s say a few hundred of them are selective institutions.

So yes, this is the top 10 ranked list. Um, but you can find a good fit. You can find a college that’s going to, um, lead to an amazing job well beyond the top 10. Um, the top 20 is stellar. The top 50. I would even say the top 100 will give you a lot of the same opportunities. Um, this list, the schools that come on this list typically have a lot of prestige.

Um, and that’s what you get with the top 10 rank schools.

Lonnie: Okay. Next question. Um, do you mind repeating, um, the items that you went over when you mentioned demonstrated interests? Yes.

Chelsea: So demonstrated interest is exactly what it sounds like. I am demonstrating that I am interested in your college by coming to campus, sending my admissions counselor an email.

Opening every email that the admissions office sends me, um, doing a virtual info session, following us on social media. The list kind of goes on and on and on. Um, think of it as engagement. With the office of admissions or engagement with the institution virtually or in person,

Lonnie, I wanted to answer 1 question. I think I didn’t touch on early action. Um, so early decision is binding. Early action is non binding. So early action, you find out just as early as early decision, but you are not committed to attending that institution. Um, and early action, you probably won’t see the 1 percent raise in acceptance because they’re not making a commitment to you, and you’re not making a commitment to them.

You’re just applying early.

Lonnie: Okay. Thank you for adding that on. Uh, if I haven’t done a whole lot of extracurriculars related to my major, because I’ve been undecided, does that make me a less competitive applicant?

Chelsea: Not necessarily. And it depends on the school that you are applying to. Um, so all of the schools on this list do take a holistic approach to reviewing your application.

Um, that means they are looking at, um, your GPA and your courses, but they’re also looking at, um, your essay and recommendation letters and activities list, um, and factors related to your background. Um, so it’s not disadvantaging you. Um, but what I would. encourage you to do to research the college that you’re looking at.

Um, check out their admission site and key in on what they say they’re looking for. Um, they may want students to have had multiple experiences in their major. Um, but typically for high school students, that’d be great. Um, but not all high school students have had that. So being involved in something else that you’re passionate in or has an interest in could be equally valuable.

Lonnie: How likely is it That a university admission would accept someone into a major with perhaps one or two years at a community college.

Chelsea: So it sounds like the question is for a transfer application. Um, each of these institutions have a transfer admissions pipeline and a transfer admissions policy. Um, I would definitely look at them individually.

So it really depends. It depends on the institution. So I’m thinking of like, Okay. California Institute of Technology here. Um, there’s some amazing two year schools in California, um, that have some partnerships with Caltech. So like that might be something that positions you well. Um, and, and that’s just me giving that example off the top of my head.

So I would say that it depends. I, I don’t think that it counts you out completely from transferring to a college like one of the ones we talked to tonight.

Lonnie: Okay. So I would like to share more about The work that we do within CollegeAdvisor.com. So for those in the room who aren’t already working with us, we know how overwhelming the admission process can be, especially for competitive applicants.

Like yourself, our team of over 300 former admission officers and admission experts are ready to help you and your family navigated all in one on one advising sessions. Take the next step in your college admission journey by signing up for a free consultation using the QR code on the screen. During the consultation, a member of our team will review your current extracurricular lists, discuss how it lines up with your college goals, and help you find opportunities for growth and leadership.

After scanning the QR code, you’ll be able to select a date and time for a phone conversation with a member of our team. Okay. So we’re going to leave the QR code here as we continue with our remaining questions. Um, so next question is, is there a minimum GPA? that the colleges are looking for.

Chelsea: Very few selective schools will have a minimum GPA.

What you want to ask instead is, what is your academic profile? And what that means is, what was the average GPA or range of the previous, previous admitted class? And that tells you if you are in the wheelhouse Um, below above it. That’s what you want to look for. Not the minimum.

Lonnie: Okay. Our next question reads.

What sort of scholarships do top schools offer and what are the requirements to be accepted for the scholarships?

Chelsea: So, um, if we’re talking about need based scholarships, one of the great things about a private, well resourced institution is that many of these schools have guaranteed scholarships for students based on household income.

Um, so it could be if your household income is less than $100,000 or less than $60,000, you are automatically awarded the scholarship. This amount of money. Um, so need based aid is typically really, really great at schools like the ones that you see on this list. Um, outside of need based aid merit aid is competitive for schools on this list.

So if you think about it, if they’re only admitting 4 percent or 5 percent of their applicants. the scholarship process is going to be equally competitive, but you will find everything from a few thousand dollars a year all the way to full rides for all of the schools that you see here. Um, the, the opportunities definitely vary from school to school.

Um, and all of these, I didn’t include prices in the summary because we wanted to keep this light and informative today, but these are all relatively expensive.

So again, my last reminder, how does finances play into the decision for you is super important in knowing what kind of scholarships you’re looking for.

Lonnie: Okay. Our next question is how many AP classes would you say colleges are searching for you to take are looking for you to take?

Chelsea: So, um, this varies widely. Um, so one, I’ll say that, uh, college rigor is typically, or I’m sorry, high school rigor is typically defined much more broadly than just AP classes. Um, it can include AP honors, dual enrollment.

Um, some schools just have advanced classes on their transcript or IB. Um, so answering the specific number for AP courses is difficult. I want to go back to one of my earlier comments that, uh, mentioned. We’re looking for you to have challenged yourself based on the educational opportunities available to you.

So if you have 30 AP classes available to you, and you’re applying to a top 10 ranked college, they might have liked you to have taken 15 of those AP classes, right? Um, but if you don’t have any AP classes available to you and you only have maybe, let’s call it seven honors classes. And you took four of them.

That could be a pretty challenging percentage and your educational context. So think about what’s available to you at your high school, um, and assess. How much you have taken advantage of those opportunities at your high school.

Lonnie: Great, great, great. Um, what if your student is still unsure of their major?

Do you suggest they narrow down and list at least two? Uh, their top two to three areas of interest or would these top ranked colleges want you to guess select your major?

Chelsea: Good question. Um, so it depends on the school. So one You can absolutely apply undecided to most schools Um, that is okay to do um, that is not uh bode negatively for you.

Um, if a school doesn’t want you to apply undecided, they won’t give you an option to do it. Um, the next thing is schools often ask you to list your first choice major and your second choice major, especially like, um, somewhere that’s Super competitive and, and is highly selective because there may not be room in your first choice major.

Um, and so that is a way to show that you have multiple interests. Um, and then last, there are so many places on the college application that will allow you to kind of expand on what your interests are. You can have a major, And decide to explore all of your varying interest in your essay and other things that you’re interested in to show that you’re not locked into that major.

Lonnie: Is there something a junior should focus their energy on if they can’t pivot? change GPA further at this point.

Chelsea: Yes. Thanks for entering that again. I was hoping it came in a private message, but I was hoping it would get dropped in the chat. Um, so if you are a junior, second semester, junior year, what can you do right now?

Um, one thing that you can do is keep up your GPA. If you are applying early decision or early action, this is the last semester that we are going to see from you. Um, so keep up your GPA. Um, I would say make the most out of your summers. So if you know that you’re lacking in activities or rigor, um, Think about this summer as kind of that last moment.

So, um, finding something productive to do with your summer, whether it’s, um, an internship, a self guided project, um, a pre college program at a university in your major of choice. taking a dual enrollment course at a local college. Um, these are all things that you can do that you have enough time to do to, to boost yourself a bit.

Um, and then lastly, I would say, um, begin strategizing and working on that college application. Start going through essay topic ideas, go ahead and start listing out your activities. Find, identify who your recommenders will be. Those are all things you can do to best position yourself junior year.

Lonnie: Great, great.

Next question. If I get wait, wait, wait, listed or rejected from my early decision, school. Do I continue on to regular decision with that school for a chance to get accepted, or does it end there?

Chelsea: So, um, there are a couple options in the early round. So you wouldn’t get waitlisted. Waitlisted typically only happens in regular decision.

You would get deferred, and deferred essentially means We’re not sure right now. We want to see everybody else who applies then make a decision on you If you are deferred you are automatically moved into regular decision and you just have to wait a little bit longer to find out If you are denied It is over at that point.

You cannot apply again for regular decision. And if you are denied, you should begin applying elsewhere. Same thing with deferred. If you applied early decision of binding agreement and got deferred, um, you are released from that binding agreement because they were unable to offer you admission during the early decision cycle.

Lonnie: Okay. Does not doing sports impact your chances of admission? Um, short answer, not at all.

Uh, let’s see.

We spoke about that. Um, this question right here reads, can you transfer to a private school in your second year? What should we take into account?

Chelsea: I’m not sure if that question means transferring in high school or transferring in college. I’m unsure there.

Lonnie: Okay. Um, if you, for the person who asked that question, if you want to re-paste it and we can try to answer it in our next couple of minutes.

Do you recommend adding links to esteemed work, such as stories you wrote or videos you made on your resume for these colleges?

Chelsea: Um, I would say sure, you just don’t want to over inundate the reader. So think of the folks that are reading your application. HR managers looking at resumes, right? They have a finite amount of time to read your application and make a decision.

Um, so you don’t want to distract them too much, um, with too many links, but a few, I would say less than four is reasonable.

Lonnie: Um, what if you had a tough sophomore year that, that GPA? Is this something to mention in an essay of why?

Chelsea: Absolutely. So you can either talk about it in your Common App personal essay, um, or you can choose to use the additional information section on Common App or the COVID 19 section if some of your issues are related to the pandemic.

So there are so many opportunities to Share what went wrong, and I encourage you to use those opportunities. They are not excuses. When you don’t give us context, we make up our own story for what went wrong. So tell us what it is so we don’t have to make up an inaccurate story about what happened.

Lonnie: Oh Okay, well, that is actually going to be our last question for tonight.

Thank you, Chelsea, for sharing all of this really great information. I also learned some information tonight that I hope to share over with my students. And thank you all for joining us and asking your questions. Just a heads up though, we do have more webinars that are going to be coming up this month and all of our webinars are designed to support you.

I’m going through the college application process. So we look forward to seeing and hearing from you in one of our future webinars. So with that, thank you everyone. Have a good night.