Flickr user Saml123
College acceptance rates are a helpful tool in understanding how competitive a college is. However, many people equate the acceptance rate to the quality of the school, and that can spread misconception. In other words, they believe that colleges with high acceptance rates aren’t “good”. In fact, a college and the experiences students have there are entirely subjective. A college that is good for you may not be good for another student. You should look at more than just a school’s acceptance rate when trying to determine whether or not that institution is the right fit for you.
More than Just College Acceptance Rates
The first thing you should know is that college acceptance rates vary by school. Moreover, state-funded colleges and universities have an entirely different set of criteria for student acceptance or rejection than those of privately-funded schools, so it is hard to compare the two.
Besides, some colleges with high acceptance rates have such rates via population density, major offerings, and campus culture.
Public vs. Private
Just because a school is private doesn’t mean they don’t have higher standards for acceptance. Some schools are private due to religious or military affiliation, while others are private because they deal in extremely specialized fields of study. College acceptance rates by themselves don’t necessarily have a bearing on whether a school is good or bad.
Use College Raptor to discover personalized college matches, cost estimates, acceptance odds, or potential financial aid for schools around the US—for FREE!
