A place at Oxbridge is a matter of luck

·         By Tabatha Leggett

·         Notebook - A selection of Independent views -, Opinion

·         Tuesday, 24 January 2012 at 1:06 pm

Schoolgirl Elly Nowell sent a rejection letter to Oxford ahead of hearing the result of her interview last week, claiming that it “didn’t quite meet the standard” of other universities. In her letter, Nowell complained that holding interviews in formal settings “allows public school applicants to flourish… and intimidates state school applicants, distorting the academic potential of both.”

Naturally Nowell’s letter elicited a huge media response, with some admiring her tenacity and others complaining that she has merely reinforced the stereotypes that Oxbridge is so desperate to shake off. Either way, the letter has raised some important questions about state-school access and thrown some light on the Oxbridge interview process.

To argue that Oxbridge aren’t doing their bit to increase the intake of state-school applicants is unfair. Given that private schools account for just 13% of A-level exam entries, the fact that just 59.3% of Cambridge students are state educated is fairly surprising. But, Cambridge spends over £3 million a year on widening state-school access, through shadowing schemes, open days and student conferences. They are doing everything they can to widen access.

It’s too easy to claim that the Oxbridge interview system favours public school applicants, but it’s equally easy to claim that there is a pressure to admit more state school applicants to fill a quota. In fact, one Cambridge admissions tutor told me that during the winter pooling process – a system that allows undersubscribed colleges to look at the strong applicants that oversubscribed colleges don’t have room for – that a college with a deficiency of state school pupils might be told to “look closely” at state applicants. “This is a euphemism for ‘ignore the independents’,” he said.

This is an old argument, and in reality, neither view is strictly correct. Getting offered a place at Oxbridge is about more than favouring students with a certain background, whatever that background may be. Largely, it’s about luck.

We’ve all heard the story about the Oxbridge interviewer who threw a ball at his interviewees as they entered the room: dropping the ball meant missing out on a place, catching the ball meant getting a conditional offer, and throwing the ball back guaranteed you a place. Unfortunately, the process isn’t quite as exciting as everyone likes to make out. Getting a place at Oxbridge means knowing your subject inside out, and being lucky on the day of your interview. And let’s not underestimate the caliber of those who get turned down.

Last year 27 percent of A level entries were awarded an A or A* grade. The problem is that the number of students receiving top grades increases every year (and that’s assuming that exams and coursework are an accurate indication of the sort of intelligence that Oxbridge are after).

It’s not a question of writing a good personal statement either. Aside from the fact that expressing anything of interest in 2,000 characters is almost impossible, the nature of online UCAS applications means that anyone can write a personal statement for you; you can even buy personal statements online. Of course references aren’t much help either, since they depend largely on students’ relationships with their teachers. Teachers from schools that aren’t used to Oxbridge applications, for example, won’t understand what Oxbridge look for in a reference, and teachers at sixth form colleges won’t know their students for long enough to write accurately.

The current university admissions system leaves those looking for the brightest pupils with a problem. Last year, Cambridge received 16,000 applications and offered 3,400 students places, whilst Oxford offered just 3,200 of their 17,000 applicants places. These are all straight A students, and the majority of them would probably thrive at Oxbridge. This forces admissions tutors to make life-changing decisions based on a couple of 20-minute interviews and additional exam papers.

But preparing for Oxbridge interviews is a tricky business. Yes, you can make sure you’ve read all the books you mention in your personal statement, and you’ve looked up your interviewers’ interests, but ultimately there’s not much more you can do. If you happen to share a particular passion for a certain topic with your interviewer, who – if you are accepted – will become your Director of Studies, of course you’ll be offered a place over someone with differing interests.

These tutors are looking for students who they want to teach; students who they want to spend their time with. If one interviewee gets on with his interviewer on a personal level, he’s far more likely to get a place than another interviewee who may be equally academically talented but interested in different aspects of the course.

Getting offered a place at Oxbridge means knowing your subject inside out, and being lucky enough to get on with your interviewer. That’s all there is to it. Ultimately every college will admit the students that they think will achieve the best possible grades in their tripos, because exam results are all that really matters, regardless of what sort of school they come from. Claiming that state school applicants are disadvantaged by the interviews system is unfair; in reality, a rejection could be down to something as simple as not sharing interests with your interviewer.

So who is good enough to get into Cambridge?

The pinnacle of academe? King's College, Cambridge. Photograph: Steven Vidler/Eurasia Press/Corbis

It's a life-changing roll call. As the admissions tutor reads out names, the men and women gathered around the table reply crisply to each one: "Yep ... yep ... yep." Each "yep" is actually a no. It's a rejection of a candidate who has applied for a place at the University of Cambridge.

The weakest of the field have already been sifted out; up to a fifth of applications are declined before the interview stage. Now the tutors are gathered to consider the results of those interviews. Five women and seven men are gathered at a table, in a light-filled, rectangular room at Churchill College to discuss admissions to study natural sciences.

The easy ones go first. These are the candidates whose academic track record is – by Cambridge standards – marginal, and whose performance at interview has been disappointing. As one candidate's name is read out, one of the academics notes that he got an interview score of two, out of a possible 10. "Oh dear," says Richard Partington, the senior admissions tutor, who sits at the head of the table. Next to Partington is a steel trolley with the applicants' files.

Then, they get down to business. After the straightforward rejections, and those they have already decided to offer places to, there is a band of candidates who fall in the middle. They might be teenagers who have done well at interview, but whose academic performance seems patchy. There are some with impeccable credentials on paper – but, in a phrase that is repeatedly used, "failed to shine" at interview.

Cambridge has opened up the admissions process to give a clearer picture of the effort that goes into the assessment of each candidate. Competition is intense: around 16,000 candidates are chasing just under 3,400 undergraduate places. Churchill College has 39 places in natural sciences and more than 170 direct applicants. The academics will make about 45 offers, in letters that arrive on candidates' doormats this week. To help preserve the anonymity of the candidates, most of the academics in the room have asked for their names not to be used.

As the wind shakes the bare branches of trees outside, the academics discuss an interviewee from a sixth-form college. One notes: "He was extremely careful with everything he was doing, but not exactly engaging in the discussion. I think mathematics is something he does quite well, but he doesn't shine."

The boy is an unusual case – he has won a scholarship to study in the UK after going to school overseas. His home country is a poor one, not known for its education system. One of the women says: "I would take him and keep a close eye on his progress. He might need a boost in confidence."

"Let's take him," Partington agrees. "Everyone content?"

Next up is a girl from a leading private school, who was strong on paper but stumbled at interview. "She seemed surprised by quite a lot of the things we were talking about – [she would say] 'Oh right' as if she hadn't seen it before," one of the academics, in a wine-coloured sweater, says.

"Had she not revised?" Partington asks.

"We asked them what they'd done recently, and based the questions on that, so it was starting with something familiar, but seeing it in a different context," the academic replies.

Partington suggests: "One possibility is that she's someone who's learned in a compartmentalised way."
Another tutor says: "The comment I've put down is: 'Needed help with next steps.'"

Partington wonders aloud if tutors can lead a student through an entire degree. "We could," one of the men responds dryly.

Both Oxford and Cambridge are regularly accused of bias against state school applicants – most famously, in the case of Laura Spence, the girl from Tyneside who was refused a place at Magdalen College, Oxford, more than a decade ago. The tutors gathered at this table are aware that Cambridge is committed to admitting between 61% and 63% of its UK students from state-sector schools and colleges.

At present, that proportion is 59.3%. The university has also agreed with the Office for Fair Access – an official watchdog set up when the Blair government brought in top-up fees – to increase the share of students from neighbourhoods where few people have gone to university.

Churchill College is a low-rise modernist stack on the edge of the city centre, a series of interlocking brick cubes. It does better on state-school intake than Cambridge as a whole. This is partly because of its reputation for science, which attracts more state school pupils. The split at Churchill is 70/30 in favour of the state sector. That is still out of kilter with the school system as a whole – just 7% of pupils in England attend private schools. But it is a bit closer to the split at sixth form, where private schools account for around 13% of the total number of A-level exam entries.

In its prospectus, the college is described as having a "friendly, unpretentious social atmosphere". It is certainly not as physically daunting as some of the grand and ancient buildings in the city centre. But even here, the surroundings speak of wealth and intimacy with power; the sketches on the walls are by Winston Churchill, the floor is teak and the room is panelled with another glossy tropical hardwood.

The phrase "a good school" comes up repeatedly in the tutors' discussions. It is used most frequently about private and grammar schools, but also some comprehensive schools, and has a double meaning. "A good school" is a high-performing one. It is a school that knows what Cambridge requires, where the school reference is delivered in the terms the university is looking for – the key phrases are ones that emphasise superlative performance compared with their age group: "He [or she] is best in … he is top of …" But when a candidate comes from "a good school" they are also cut less slack. Of one applicant from "a good school", a bemused tutor says: "The thing that didn't sit with me is, his [predicted] A* is in further maths, but he couldn't do his arithmetic."

The Sutton Trust, the charity that aims to promote social mobility through education, blames the unequal outcomes between state and private candidates at university level on the poor exam performance of some schools. That failure at school level becomes painfully apparent in the case of one of the Churchill candidates. She has had "unimaginable teaching difficulties", the tutors hear. She has taken her A-levels at a school that has had a spectacularly high turnover of teachers.

Peering at his laptop when her name is announced, Nick Cutler, an admissions tutor at Churchill, says there are "multiple flags". The flags are used to indicate factors such as poverty, or a school that performs very poorly at GCSE. There are six categories in all – including whether an applicant has spent time in care. There is evidence that a strong candidate from a bad school is likely to perform well when they come to Cambridge. But the academics are concerned that in this case, the school has been so turbulent that she simply lacks essential knowledge. Her examination and interview marks are low.

The rapid pace of Cambridge would "kill her", one of the academics says. Another agrees: "I would really like to give her a place, but for her own sanity, she's much better going to one of the other redbrick, Russell Group universities, and just taking her time."

Partington says: "If we gave her a chance she would do what everybody else would do, and think: 'I'll probably be all right' and she will probably be wrong."



The Bridge of Sighs at St John's College, Cambridge. Photograph: Brian Lawrence/Getty Images

There is a despairing consensus around the table that the university cannot repair the gaps in this candidate's knowledge. A damning line from the school's reference – which lays bare its inability to teach the candidate – is read aloud by a tutor who raises outstretched hands in exasperation.

The candidate's file goes back into the trolley with a clang.

Another candidate from a comprehensive school has four contextual data flags by her name. There is a note too about "teaching difficulties" – a physics teacher who left during the sixth form and a stand-in for chemistry. This is an easier case – her interview scores are high, an eight and a seven out of 10. She has a 92% mark in her chemistry A-level. One of the academics reviews her "flags": "She's got low socio-economic, low-performing GCSE, low Oxbridge – she's nearly got the full set."

Partington says: "Take her."

There is another girl from a comprehensive school who got an eight at interview, but one academic exclaims: "Blooming heck, her GCSE score was terrible."

"The school doesn't know how to write a reference," another comments.

Partington decides to make an offer but to set the hurdle high because of the doubts. "We're going to A* the chemistry," he says firmly.

"I would A* the maths," one of the others suggests. "The other thing I would do is write to her separately, encourage her to do further maths through the Further Maths Network."

The tutors are divided about this – there is a feeling she has already been stretched thin in a "school that's not great". But they decide this will not be an entrance requirement. She just needs a little more fluency in maths to cope at university.

On the table are white china cups of tea and coffee, two barely touched water jugs and a single slightly blackened banana. The academics leaf through coloured spreadsheets with the candidates' names, their exam performance to date, predicted grades, interview scores, contextual flags and ranking – based on exam performance – compared with all of the university's applicants this year.

The pace is swift, despite the meeting lasting five hours. It is occasionally leavened with a touch of humour, or avuncular kindness. One of the academics, looking at a file photo, sighs: "Oh he's young – he looks like one of the Bash Street kids." Another remarks, of a different candidate: "You could conduct a biology study in his hair." Recalling an over-caffeinated and under-dressed teenager, one says: "The T-shirt, oh yes, the T-shirt …"

Although a candidate's ethnicity is generally evident from his or her name and the photograph in their file, there is never any overt discussion of race. This seems surprising when both Oxford  and Cambridge have been accused of being racially as well as socially exclusive.

Geoff Parks, director of admissions at Cambridge, says later: "Race doesn't come up in its own right. It's inseparable from socio-economic factors. Cambridge admits a proportion of BME [ethnic minority] students that is above the proportion of the teenage population, [but] with 'low-participation' neighbourhoods we feel we're not meeting a relatively low target. Many people who are first-generation British might also be living in low-participation neighbourhoods."

At times, the procedure seems brusque; a life-changing decision made in a second. In fact, it is the end point of a long, intensive process of evaluating candidates. Most of those who apply are interviewed. And the interviews are designed to probe their knowledge deeply. For natural sciences, the interview has a practical bent, with candidates tackling problems under the gaze of the tutor. Confidence is appreciated. Of one candidate, a boy from an academy school in Norfolk, a tutor says: "He managed to strike a balance between not being fazed by what's going on, and not being cocky either. The sort of person …"

Someone else finishes: "You'd like to teach."

Great emphasis is placed on exam performance, and the academics are keen to drill down into performance in individual modules. One notes approvingly of a candidate who has "done some hard units". There is far less interest than is popularly thought in extra-curricular activity. An academic remarks with bafflement that a candidate has "got his violin grades on there".

It is not just poor teaching – or a lack of teaching – that can wreck a candidate's chances. Their combination of subjects is also crucial. There is consternation about a candidate who is applying to read natural sciences without having either maths or biology; he is taking physics and chemistry but his third A-level is an arts subject. The lack of maths rules him out for the study of physics. The absence of biology means he will struggle to be accepted as a biologist.

The school is a "really ropey" one. One of the academics, a man in a grey fleece, comments: "I feel sorry for him, but I don't think we can fix the problem."

Academics considering applicants from the winter pool in Clough Hall, Newnham College. Photograph: Graham Turner for the Guardian

The consensus is that they will "stick him in the pool". The "winter pool" is a third option – neither a straightforward offer nor an outright rejection. It means the application is forwarded for consideration by other colleges. Strong candidates who are at risk of being squeezed out because they have applied to an over-subscribed college also get a second chance this way.

The pool takes place in early January, around three weeks after the college decision meetings. Admissions tutors from all the Cambridge colleges gather in two rooms at Newnham College, and examine the pooled candidates' folders again.

The main room in which the pool takes place is Clough Hall, an elegant banqueting room with a minstrels' gallery and a ceiling decorated with plaster mouldings of flowers and heraldic beasts. There is very little conversation. Tutors go through bundles of files making lists of candidates they would like to pull out for their college. Anglepoise lamps spill yellow light on to the desks. Outside, it is overcast.

Andy Bell, admissions tutor at Gonville and Caius College, has spotted three potential candidates for places in an arts subject at his college. One of the files that has caught his eye is a boy whose educational background is not that of a "straightforward, standard Cambridge applicant".

He is applying from a "perfectly decent" sixth-form college, but before that he had attended a poor comprehensive school. Bell notes: "His GCSE performance is really quite strong, getting a lot of A*s at GCSE.

This is someone who's been working far above the level of his cohort from an early age." Outside school, he has displayed an interest in the subject he is applying for – it is such a small course that naming it risks identifying him – through work experience at a university in London, and extensive reading. "This is somebody who's worked really hard for a number of years, who's really serious about making something of his academic ability," Bell says.

Seated at a table by one of the tall, arched windows, James Keeler, the admissions tutor at Selwyn College, has perhaps the most dreaded job – reviewing candidates for medicine, a course so competitive that excellent applicants are routinely turned down.

Keeler opens the folder of a candidate who is applying after taking his A-levels. The school reference describes him as a "strong applicant" and underlines the adjective. This is borne out by his results – he has four A*s.

For medicine, the tutors look for both a strong aptitude for science and the beginnings of a bedside manner. This candidate has divided his interviewers. While the clinicians thought highly of him, there is a question mark over his scientific ability. Keeler seems inclined to attach greater weight to his exam performance than the interview. "The interview is just part of the picture – his four A*s is the summation of many years of work," he says.

He carries on leafing through the folder, looking for evidence of what the candidate is doing now. "Looking at the personal statement for medicine, it's important that they have a range of activities and, particularly, that they have done a serious level of volunteering – handing out teas in a hospice, working with disabled children. Something where they have to take on a caring role and think about why doctors can't cure everybody.

"He's been on a gap year," Keeler notes.

"If he's been sitting on a beach for a year, I'll put him in the bin ..."

He turns a page of the folder and reads the candidate's statement: "He's been volunteering with St John Ambulance. And also training to be a special constable – that's something I've never seen before. He's clearly doing something worthwhile. He's currently volunteering at a care home." The admissions tutor smiles. "That's a tick for me."

College Interview Questions

12 Questions You Should Be Ready to Answer in Your College Interview

By Allen Grove, About.com Guide

Most college interview questions are meant to help you and the interviewer find out if the college is a good match for you. Rarely will you get a question that puts you on the spot or tries to make you feel stupid. Remember, the college is trying to make a good impression too. Use the interview to show off your personality in ways that aren't possible on the application. Below are some typical questions and some suggestions for answering them. When you've mastered them, check out these 20 more interview questions. Also be sure to avoid these 10 common interview mistakes.

1. Tell me about yourself.

This question seems easier than it is. How do you reduce your whole life to a few sentences? And it's hard to avoid commonplace answers like "I'm friendly" or "I'm a good student." Of course you want to demonstrate that you're friendly and studious, but try also to say something memorable here that really makes you different from other college applicants. Can you hold your breath longer than anyone in your school? Do you have a huge collection of Pez dispensers? Do you have unusual cravings for sushi? Read more tips for this question...

2. Why are you interested in our college?

Be specific when answering this, and show that you've done your research. Also, avoid answers like "I want to make a lot of money" or "Graduates of your college get good job placement." You want to highlight your intellectual interests, not your materialistic desires. What specifically about the college distinguishes it from other schools you're considering? Read more tips on this question...

3. What can I tell you about our college?

You can almost guarantee that your interviewer will provide an opportunity for you to ask questions. Make sure you have some, and make sure your questions are thoughtful and specific to the particular college. Avoid questions like "when is the application deadline?" or "how many majors do you have?" This information is both uninteresting and readily available on the school's webpage. Come up with some probing and focused questions: "What would graduates of your college say was the most valuable thing about their four years here?" "I read that you offer a major in interdisciplinary studies. Could you tell me more about that?" Read more tips on this question...

4. Who in your life has most influenced you?

There are other variations of this question: Who's your hero? What historical or fictional character would you most like to be like? This can be an awkward question if you haven't thought about it, so spend a few minutes considering how you would answer. Identify a few real, historical, and fictional characters you admire, and be prepared to articulate WHY you admire them. Read more tips on this question...

5. Why do you want to major in ______________ ?

Realize that you don't need to have decided upon a major when you apply to college, and your interviewer will not be disappointed if you say you have many interests and you need to take more classes before choosing a major. However, if you have identified a potential major, be prepared to explain why. Avoid saying that you want to major in something because you'll make a lot of money -- your passion for a subject will make you a good college student, not your greed. Read more tips on this question...

6. What will you contribute to our campus community?

You'll want to be specific when answering this question. An answer like "I'm hard-working" is rather bland and generic. Think about what it is that makes you uniquely you. What exactly will you bring to diversify the college's community? Read more tips on this question...

7. Tell me about a challenge that you overcame.

This question is designed to see what kind of problem solver you are. When confronted with a challenge, how do you handle the situation? College will be full of challenges, so the college wants to make sure they enroll students who can handle them. Read more tips on this question...

8. What do you do for fun in your free time?

"Hangin' out and chillin'" is a weak answer for this question. College life obviously isn't all work, so the admissions folks want students who will do interesting and productive things even when they aren't studying. Do you write? hike? play tennis? Use a question such as this one to show that you are well-rounded with a variety of interests. Read more tips on this question...

9. What do you see yourself doing 10 years from now?

You don't need to pretend that you have your life figured out if you get a question like this. Very few students entering college could accurately predict their future professions. However, your interviewer does want to see that you think ahead. If you can see yourself doing three different things, say so -- honesty and open-mindedness will play in your favor. Read more tips on this interview question...

10. Does your high school record accurately reflect your effort and ability?

In the interview or on your application, you often have an opportunity to explain a bad grade or a bad semester. Be careful with this issue -- you don't want to come across as a whiner or as someone who blames others for a low grade. However, if you really did have extenuating circumstances, let the college know. Read more tips on this interview question...

11. Recommend a good book to me.

The interviewer is trying to accomplish a few things with this question. First, the question asks whether or not you've actually read much. Second, it asks you to apply some critical skills as you articulate why a book is worth reading. And finally, your interviewer might get a good book recommendation! Read more tips on this interview question...

If you've read a book that you think would work well in an interview environment, share your recommendation with other readers.

12. If you could do one thing in high school differently, what would it be?

A question like this can turn sour if you make the mistake of dwelling on things you regret. Try to put a positive spin on it. Perhaps you've always wondered if you would have enjoyed acting or music. Maybe you would have liked to give the student newspaper a try. Maybe, in retrospect, studying Chinese might have been more in line with your career goals than Spanish. A good answer shows that you didn't have the time in high school to explore everything that is of interest to you. Read more tips on this interview question...

20 Most Selective Colleges and Universities in the U.S.

http://collegeapps.about.com/od/collegerankings/tp/most-selective-colleges.01.htm

These Colleges Send Out the Greatest Percentage of Rejection Letters By Allen Grove

Here you'll find the 20 most selective colleges and universities in the U.S. These schools accept a lower percentage of applicants than any others. As you read the list, consider these issues:
• I did not include colleges that are essentially free (although many have a service requirement). Nevertheless, College of the Ozarks, Berea, West Point, Cooper Union, Coast Guard Academy, USAFA, and Annapolis all have extremely low acceptance rates.
• I did not include extremely small places like Deep Springs College and Webb Institute
• I did not include schools with a performance- or portfolio-based admissions process such as Julliard and the Curtis Institute of Music
• Selectivity alone doesn't explain how hard it is to get into a school. Some schools not on this list have students with higher average GPAs and test scores than some schools on the list.

20. Duke University


mricon








• Acceptance Rate: 19% (2010 data)
• Location: Durham, North Carolina
• Enrollment: 14,350 (6,578 undergraduates)
• School Type: Private comprehensive university


19. Washington and Lee University

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• Acceptance Rate: 19% (2010 data)
• Location: Lexington, Virginia
• Enrollment: 2,153 (1,759 undergraduates)
• School Type: Private liberal arts university



18. University of Chicago

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• Acceptance Rate: 19% (2010 data)
• Location: Chicago, Illinois
• Enrollment: 15,094 (5,114 undergraduates)
• School Type: Private comprehensive university



17. Vanderbilt University

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• Acceptance Rate: 18% (2010 data)
• Location: Nashville, Tennessee
• Enrollment: 12,506 (6,794 undergraduates)
• School Type: Private comprehensive university


16. Cornell University

Photo Credit: Allen Grove







• Acceptance Rate: 18% (2010 data)
• Location: Ithaca, New York
• Enrollment: 20,633 (13,931 undergraduates)
• School Type: Private comprehensive university (Ivy League)


15. Middlebury College

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• Acceptance Rate: 17% (2010 data)
• Location: Middlebury, Vermont
• Enrollment: 2,482 (all undergraduate)
• School Type: Private liberal arts college


 14. Claremont McKenna College

Bazookajoe1 / Wikimedia Commons

• Acceptance Rate: 17% (2010 data)
• Location: Claremont, California
• Enrollment: 1,238 (all undergraduate)
• School Type: Private liberal arts college


 13. Swarthmore College

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• Acceptance Rate: 16% (2010 data)
• Location: Swarthmore, Pennsylvania
• Enrollment: 1,525 (all undergraduate)
• School Type: Private liberal arts college


 12. Amherst College

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• Acceptance Rate: 15% (2010 data)
• Location: Amherst, Massachusetts (five-college area)
• Enrollment: 1,744 (all undergraduate)
• School Type: Private liberal arts college


11. Pomona College

CMLLovesDegus / Wikimedia Commons





• Acceptance Rate: 15% (2010 data)
• Location: Claremont, California
• Enrollment: 1,550 (all undergraduate)
• School Type: Private liberal arts college



10. University of Pennsylvania

rubberpaw / Flickr

• Acceptance Rate: 14% (2010 data)
• Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Enrollment: 24,599 (11,954 undergraduates)
• School Type: Private comprehensive university (Ivy League)



9. Dartmouth College

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• Acceptance Rate: 13% (2010 data)
• Location: Hanover, New Hampshire
• Enrollment: 5,987 (4,196 undergraduates)
• School Type: Private comprehensive university (Ivy League)



8. Caltech (California Institute of Technology)

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• Acceptance Rate: 13% (2010 data)
• Location: Pasadena, California
• Enrollment: 2,130 (951 undergraduates)
• School Type: Small private university with engineering focus



7. MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

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• Acceptance Rate: 10% (2010 data)
• Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts
• Enrollment: 10,384 (4,232 undergraduates)
• School Type: Private university with engineering focus



6. Columbia University

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• Acceptance Rate: 10% (2010 data)
• Location: New York, New York
• Enrollment: 24,230 (7,743 undergraduates)
• School Type: Private comprehensive university (Ivy League)



5. Brown University

_Gene_ Flickr

• Acceptance Rate: 9% (2010 data)
• Location: Providence, Rhode Island
• Enrollment: 8,574 (6,244 undergraduates)
• School Type: Private comprehensive university (Ivy League)



4. Princeton University

_Gene_ / Flickr





• Acceptance Rate: 9% (2010 data)
• Location: Princeton, New Jersey
• Enrollment: 7,592 (5,113 undergraduates)
• School Type: Private comprehensive university (Ivy League)



3. Yale University

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• Acceptance Rate: 8% (2010 data)
• Location: New Haven, Connecticut
• Enrollment: 11,701 (5,310 undergraduates)
• School Type: Private comprehensive university (Ivy League)



2. Stanford University

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• Acceptance Rate: 7% (2010 data)
• Location: Stanford, California
• Enrollment: 18,498 (6,602 undergraduates)
• School Type: Private comprehensive university



1. Harvard University

David Paul Ohmer / flickr

• Acceptance Rate: 7% (2010 data)
• Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts
• Enrollment: 27,651 (10,257 undergraduates)
• School Type: Private comprehensive university (Ivy League)

The many myths about college admissions

A dean of admissions once told me that a big part of his job is to simply dispel myths and rumors about the application process — an especially difficult task in the Washington region, where talk of college prep often starts at birth (if not earlier). He wasn’t joking. It’s true.

Last week, Valerie Strauss (author of the Post’s Answer Sheet blog) and I sat down to compose a list of seven myths about college admissions, which was published in today’s paper.

A quick recap of the myths we picked:

1) It’s best to set your heart on one school and really go for it.

2) The tuition price listed in brochures is what everyone pays.

3) The admissions department adores you.

4) It’s best to crowd your application with a volume of extracurricular activities.

5) It’s better to have a high GPA than to take difficult classes.

6) Essays don’t really matter much in the end because grades and test scores are so dominant in admissions decisions.

7) Recommendations from famous people can give an applicant a huge boost.

Let’s keep the list going past seven. I asked my Facebook and Twitter followers to share their advice, and here’s what they suggested (reframed in the form of a myth):

8) There are only three accepted topics for your essay: The person you most admire, volunteer work in a third-world nation or great insight about a current event. (HT to Smith College in Massachusetts, which advises applicants to write heartfelt essays.)

9) As long as you run spell-check, there’s no need to proof-read your essay. Plus, college officials don’t care about typos — and they love when you shorten words so your essay reads like a text message.

10) Admissions staffers are super impressed when you use big words, even if they aren’t used correctly. (HT to Lehigh University in Pennsylvania and its list of hot tips for applicants.)

11) If you don’t get accepted, it’s game over. You will never ever attend that institution.

12) There’s no need to visit campus because all colleges are the same.

13) All student loans are the same, so don’t read that fine print. You have four years to learn about interest rates and deferment, so don’t worry about it now.

14) Only apply for massive scholarships worth thousands. It’s a waste of time to apply for awards only worth a couple hundred bucks.

By Jenna Johnson [Posted at 09:10 AM ET, 10/24/2011]