College bound: college admissions for young women
by Joanna Schultz, Director of College Counseling
During my 17 years as college counselor at Ellis, much has changed in the college scene around us. These changes have made the process more difficult in many ways, particularly for excellent female students. Back in 1996, Harvard, Yale, and Princeton admitted between 15% and 20% of their applicants. In 2013, these universities admitted only 6% to 7% of their applicants. The increasing numbers of international students attending college in the United States are enriching and diversifying student communities while also increasing competition for places, swelling already huge applicant pools. And there are now significantly more females than males competing for places in colleges that would like to keep the class ratio at 50/50.
During my 17 years as college counselor at Ellis, much has changed in the college scene around us. These changes have made the process more difficult in many ways, particularly for excellent female students. Back in 1996, Harvard, Yale, and Princeton admitted between 15% and 20% of their applicants. In 2013, these universities admitted only 6% to 7% of their applicants. The increasing numbers of international students attending college in the United States are enriching and diversifying student communities while also increasing competition for places, swelling already huge applicant pools. And there are now significantly more females than males competing for places in colleges that would like to keep the class ratio at 50/50.
For the Ellis class of 1996, the first year of my college counseling career, our strongest students were admitted to the most selective colleges and were generally able to afford them. In 2013, young women at the top of their classes across the country are now described as “ordinarily excellent” by college admissions officers, and that is no longer enough for admission. As one of my colleagues wrote recently, “Our students don’t get into the Ivies unless they are recruited athletes, VIP legacies, or have cured cancer.”
It is also increasingly challenging to finance college. The media has trumpeted the fact that college tuitions in the past 15 years have increased at a rate significantly higher than the rise in the cost of living. In 1996, I was able to make the assumption that a college would be able to make up the difference between what a family could pay and the total cost of attending that institution. This assumption no longer holds true for any colleges except the most selective and the ones with the highest endowments. A full 50% of the Ellis Class of 2013 made their college decisions primarily on the basis of what is most affordable to their families at this time. In 1996, colleges at all levels made it possible for most admitted students to attend. Making college decisions then was more about “best fit” than it can be now. This year’s seniors have to seriously consider the loan indebtedness they are willing to take on.
And yet our seniors and their families have made wise choices. Some are still negotiating financial aid awards and some remain on wait lists, but overall girls know where they are going and are proudly wearing their new college sweatshirts.
The Ellis seniors will find those relationships and will continue to challenge themselves in the institutions they have chosen. These students may be described as “ordinarily excellent” by admissions officers, but we know they will be extraordinary young women as they continue their educational careers and their lives. They remain thoughtful and adventurous, trying new things and new places, seeking different environments in which to stretch themselves and ways in which they can become socially responsible citizens of the world. At the same time, they are compassionate, thinking about what is best for their families, even if that means staying closer to home or choosing a less expensive college.
And, at this point they have accepted and have started celebrating the choices they’ve made. I cannot tell you the number of times I’ve had a senior say, “I now know that my college is where I belong, even if it wasn’t at the top of my list in October.” They will do well wherever they go, and they have the intelligence and skills to succeed and the confidence to make themselves into the best people they can be. How fortunate I have been to share my 17 years in Ellis’s college counseling office with such remarkable young women.
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It is also increasingly challenging to finance college. The media has trumpeted the fact that college tuitions in the past 15 years have increased at a rate significantly higher than the rise in the cost of living. In 1996, I was able to make the assumption that a college would be able to make up the difference between what a family could pay and the total cost of attending that institution. This assumption no longer holds true for any colleges except the most selective and the ones with the highest endowments. A full 50% of the Ellis Class of 2013 made their college decisions primarily on the basis of what is most affordable to their families at this time. In 1996, colleges at all levels made it possible for most admitted students to attend. Making college decisions then was more about “best fit” than it can be now. This year’s seniors have to seriously consider the loan indebtedness they are willing to take on.
And yet our seniors and their families have made wise choices. Some are still negotiating financial aid awards and some remain on wait lists, but overall girls know where they are going and are proudly wearing their new college sweatshirts.
- 14 students are going to small liberal arts colleges. (Dickinson, Trinity, Carleton, Bucknell, Mercyhurst, Skidmore, Barnard, Bates, Wesleyan, Allegheny, Simmons, and Brandeis)
- 10 students are going to state-related universities. (Pitt and Penn State)
- 12 students are going to urban, private universities. (Northeastern, George Washington, Emory, Brown, Villanova, American, Pace, Washington University, Vanderbilt, Carnegie Mellon, New York University, and Boston University)
- 3 students are going to state universities not in Pennsylvania. (Indiana University, University of Colorado, and University of Virginia)
- 3 are going to art schools (Rhode Island School of Design and the Fashion School at Kent State)
- 1 is attending a Historically Black College. (Hampton)
- 1 has conditional offers from two universities in Great Britain. (Cardiff and Newcastle)
- 3 students are recruited athletes. (Bucknell and Bates)
- 40-50% of students in the class of 2013 are planning to major in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) subjects.
The Ellis seniors will find those relationships and will continue to challenge themselves in the institutions they have chosen. These students may be described as “ordinarily excellent” by admissions officers, but we know they will be extraordinary young women as they continue their educational careers and their lives. They remain thoughtful and adventurous, trying new things and new places, seeking different environments in which to stretch themselves and ways in which they can become socially responsible citizens of the world. At the same time, they are compassionate, thinking about what is best for their families, even if that means staying closer to home or choosing a less expensive college.
And, at this point they have accepted and have started celebrating the choices they’ve made. I cannot tell you the number of times I’ve had a senior say, “I now know that my college is where I belong, even if it wasn’t at the top of my list in October.” They will do well wherever they go, and they have the intelligence and skills to succeed and the confidence to make themselves into the best people they can be. How fortunate I have been to share my 17 years in Ellis’s college counseling office with such remarkable young women.
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