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Impact of Demonstrating Interest

 

In developing our College Preference System, we tested whether the rumor that demonstrated interest made a difference in acceptance rates.  The results were shocking, and now that you understand college admissions, you can understand why.

 

How We Did the Analysis
The analysis was based on data from the college's 2008 Common Data Set, which is what US News and many other college guide books rely on as their source.  The selectivity refers to US News' categorization in their 2008 ranking.

College Name Selectivity 2008
Overall
Acceptance Rate 		2008
Early-decision Acceptance Rate 		Demonstrating
Interest
Increases
Chances By
Columbia University Most Selective 11% 25% 127%
Amherst College Most Selective 18% 39% 117%
Williams College Most Selective 18% 40% 122%
Oberlin College Most Selective 31% 65% 110%
Wheaton College More Selective 37% 75% 103%
Claremont McKenna College Most Selective 16% 33% 106%
Swarthmore College Most Selective 18% 36% 100%
Trinity College More Selective 34% 69% 103%
Marist College More Selective 42% 83% 98%
Connecticut College More Selective 35% 67% 91%
Union College More Selective 43% 83% 93%
Dartmouth College Most Selective 15% 29% 93%
Bucknell University Most Selective 30% 56% 87%
Johns Hopkins University Most Selective 24% 45% 88%
Wellesley College Most Selective 36% 66% 83%
Gettysburg College More Selective 36% 65% 81%
Lehigh University Most Selective 32% 58% 81%
Kenyon College Most Selective 29% 53% 83%
University of Pennsylvania Most Selective 16% 29% 81%
St. Lawrence University More Selective 44% 79% 80%
Muhlenberg College More Selective 37% 67% 81%
Denison University More Selective 39% 70% 79%
Skidmore College More Selective 37% 64% 73%
Lafayette College Most Selective 35% 61% 74%
Davidson College Most Selective 28% 49% 75%
Cornell University Most Selective 21% 37% 76%
Bryn Mawr College More Selective 46% 77% 67%
Vassar College Most Selective 29% 48% 66%
Elon University More Selective 41% 69% 68%
Reed College More Selective 34% 57% 68%
Brandeis University Most Selective 34% 57% 68%
Brown University Most Selective 14% 23% 64%
Northwestern University Most Selective 27% 44% 63%
College of the Holy Cross More Selective 33% 54% 64%
Haverford College Most Selective 25% 41% 64%
St. Olaf College More Selective 54% 88% 63%
Dickinson College More Selective 42% 67% 60%
Kalamazoo College More Selective 63% 100% 59%
Wabash College More Selective 47% 75% 60%
Bentley College More Selective 38% 60% 58%
Syracuse University More Selective 51% 80% 57%
Bowdoin College Most Selective 19% 30% 58%
Wesleyan University Most Selective 27% 43% 59%
Grinnell College Most Selective 50% 77% 54%
Stevens Institute of Technology More Selective 51% 78% 53%
George Washington University More Selective 37% 56% 51%
Clark University More Selective 56% 84% 50%
Harvey Mudd College Most Selective 28% 42% 50%
Whitman College More Selective 48% 72% 50%
Carleton College Most Selective 30% 44% 47%
Washington and Jefferson College More Selective 34% 50% 47%
University of Richmond More Selective 40% 57% 43%
Bates College More Selective 30% 42% 40%
Drew University More Selective 61% 86% 41%
Lawrence University More Selective 56% 78% 39%
Scripps College Most Selective 43% 60% 40%
Juniata College More Selective 67% 94% 40%
Earlham College More Selective 69% 96% 39%
Wake Forest University Most Selective 42% 59% 40%
Washington and Lee University Most Selective 27% 38% 41%
Stetson University More Selective 64% 88% 38%
College of William and Mary Most Selective 34% 46% 35%
Stonehill College More Selective 52% 70% 35%
Colorado College Most Selective 32% 43% 34%
University of Puget Sound More Selective 66% 89% 35%
University at Buffalo--SUNY More Selective 52% 69% 33%
Hillsdale College More Selective 64% 85% 33%
Colby College Most Selective 32% 42% 31%
Southwestern University More Selective 67% 88% 31%
Hampshire College More Selective 55% 72% 31%
Hamilton College Most Selective 28% 36% 29%
Pomona College Most Selective 16% 21% 31%
Tufts University Most Selective 28% 35% 25%
Bryant University More Selective 44% 55% 25%
Smith College More Selective 52% 65% 25%
Allegheny College More Selective 57% 71% 25%
Furman University More Selective 56% 69% 23%
Middlebury College Most Selective 21% 25% 19%
Clarkson University More Selective 81% 97% 20%
Rice University Most Selective 25% 30% 20%
DePauw University More Selective 69% 82% 19%
Presbyterian College More Selective 71% 84% 18%
Washington College More Selective 64% 75% 17%
Gordon College More Selective 71% 84% 18%
Bennington College More Selective 62% 73% 18%
College of the Atlantic More Selective 77% 90% 17%
Nazareth College More Selective 75% 87% 16%
College of Wooster More Selective 74% 86% 16%
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute More Selective 49% 57% 16%
SUNY--Geneseo More Selective 36% 42% 17%
Elmira College More Selective 75% 86% 15%
Emory University Most Selective 27% 31% 15%
Macalester College Most Selective 41% 46% 12%
Ursinus College More Selective 53% 59% 11%
Vanderbilt University Most Selective 33% 36% 9%
Wagner College More Selective 60% 65% 8%
Rochester Institute of Technology More Selective 65% 69% 6%
St. Mary's College More Selective 81% 85% 5%
American University More Selective 53% 55% 4%
Mount Holyoke College More Selective 52% 53% 2%
University of Rochester Most Selective 41% 41% 0%
Cornell College More Selective 46% 45% -2%
Rhodes College More Selective 51% 48% -6%
College of New Jersey More Selective 47% 42% -11%
St. Mary's College of Maryland More Selective 55% 47% -15%
Carnegie Mellon University Most Selective 28% 23% -18%
Sewanee--University of the South More Selective 64% 50% -22%
Wittenberg University More Selective 73% 56% -23%
Virginia Tech More Selective 67% 50% -25%
Tulane University More Selective 44% 32% -27%
University of Miami More Selective 38% 27% -29%
Boston University More Selective 59% 37% -37%
Cal Poly--San Luis Obispo More Selective 45% 23% -49%
Ohio Wesleyan University More Selective 66% 32% -52%