College Acceptance Rates in the USA: How Do You Forge Your Path to Success

Of all the students who send an application to join college, only 70 percent get approved on their first trial. The rest have to forego their dream college and instead seek admission to a different higher-learning institution.

The college acceptance rates drop more as one applies to competitive, highly selective colleges like Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard, Stanford University, Amherst, and the United States Naval Academy.

All in all, college applications should not be complicated with the right information on college acceptance and admission. Given that, experts from University of the People, an accredited, tuition-free college, have shed light on the whole subject of acceptance rates to help you have an easy time applying.

What are College Acceptance Rates?

College acceptance is the percentage of applicants accepted to their preferred institution and program after an application. Experts determine the rate by dividing the number of applicants accepted into a given college by those who applied.

College acceptance determines your probability of joining a given higher-learning institution. As an example, applying to colleges with a higher acceptance rate increases the chances of your application getting approved easily.

On the contrary, applying to join a college with a low acceptance rate subjects you to high competition from applicants with similar qualifications as you. As such, you are likely to miss a slot in such competitive colleges.

Factors that Determine College Acceptance Rates

A college’s acceptance rate depends on its widespread respect within society and the job market. For instance, top-rated institutions tend to have lower acceptance rates, since they receive multiple applications, and yet they can only take a fixed number of students per enrolment.

That explains why many Ivy League colleges like Harvard have a lower acceptance rate— they can hardly take all the many students who apply to join their learning community. Besides prestige, acceptance rates vary depending on other factors like:

Alumni Success

Colleges with many successful alumni working in prestigious companies like Cisco, Microsoft, and Google attract applicants in huge numbers. Many students assume that joining colleges increases their chances of career success.

College Size

While students associate low acceptance rates with the prestige that is not always the case. Some smaller colleges can have lower acceptance rates since they have fewer resources to accommodate many students who wish to join.

Pull Factors

Generally, students prefer colleges with better financial aid programs, an upbeat campus lifestyle, lower tuition fees, and popular sports programs. Colleges with many attractive pull factors receive more applications, which is why they have to reject more.

Tips to Forge your Path to College Application Success

College admission rejection or approval depends on a couple of things, including your grades in high school, participation in extracurricular activities, the quality of your college application essays, and the reputation of the college you are eyeing. 

If you have the college admission basics like a good GPA from high school, here are extra tips to focus on when trying to maximize the chances of your application going through without much hassle.

Enroll in a College Prep Program

If you are applying for an undergraduate, the chances are you have similar qualifications to thousands of other applicants across the United States. Therefore, enrolling in a college prep program matters if you want to stand out.

Many highly-selective higher learning institutions consider college prep programs crucial in applicant selection. That’s because the enrichment program gives students a strong start in campus life, which colleges value much.

Prepare for College Admission Tests

Selective colleges offer college admission tests to gauge students’ suitability to join a given program. Often, colleges prefer students who score highly on these tests and turn down those who score below average.

Therefore, if you want to join a high-on-demand college, do your best in college tests. You should find an experienced tutor to coach you on the fundamentals and practice online until you feel comfortable. With adequate preparation, you stand a chance of acing the tests.

Get Customized Recommendation Letters

While many college applicants provide recommendation letters alongside their applications, few do the right thing. Many attach generic recommendation letters that sound similar to those of competitors. Such letters do not provide any advantage over rivals.

Therefore, it matters to request your authors to customize recommendation letters in a way that favors you most. Probably, the recommendation letters should center on your most assertive and unique personality traits, accomplishments, and skills.

Craft the Best Possible Admission Essay

Unbeknownst to many applicants, colleges use admission essays as a deciding factor between two applicants with similar grade points. Therefore, if you want an edge over other applicants, draft an essay that sells you in the best way.

A good admission letter should typically showcase a student’s strengths and achievements in an honest, relatable, and impeccable way. The essay should disclose all critical information beyond grades and scores.

Apply to Schools with Open Admissions

Sometimes, you could lack the time and patience needed to bypass complex college admission tests, a common issue in college applications. If you face such complexity, do not let college acceptance rates work against you.

Instead, consider colleges with open admissions like the University of The People, an accredited college with 100% acceptance rates. Open admissions colleges grant entry to every student who completes an application process, as long as they have a high school degree.

Go for Colleges with High Acceptance Rates

Many colleges, even those with high acceptance rates, offer quality education, top-notch student services, and other basics you need to complete your program and stay competitive in the job market. So, to simplify college application, avoid the highly-competitive colleges, and go for those with low or moderate acceptance rates.

Some of the highest acceptance rate colleges include:

• Liberty University
• University of Kentucky
• Marshall University
• University of The People
• Kansas State University
• East Carolina University
• University of Maine
• University of New Mexico
• Marshall University
• University of Utah

Study Tuition Free at the University Of The People

Getting admission to a highly selective institution with low college acceptance rates can be stressful. That is where the University of The People comes in. Unlike many colleges, all applicants get admitted into their favorite program on their first application as long as they meet our admission requirements — they should be above 16 with a high school degree.  

Our accredited university offers quality, online master’s, bachelor’s, and associate’s academic programs like business administration, computer science, information technology, health sciences, and education. We also have certificate programs that offer skill development in finance, entrepreneurship, and marketing. Contact us to learn how to get started without facing complex admission processes.