Elite Colleges Announce Record Low Admissions Rates in Wake of College Cheating Scandal

Our newest post is from the New York Times and it summarizes how the most selective colleges and universities continue to become even more selective as admissions rates dip to a new low at many schools. While colleges are admitting the same number of students generally, the percentage of students selected is lower and lower because more and more qualified students apply.  This helps us all to understand why it's important to explore college options beyond the handful of super selective schools and to pay attention to counselor advice always.  

Elite Colleges Announce Record Low Admissions Rates in Wake of College Cheating Scandal

from the New York Times

美国大学作弊丑闻发生后，各名牌大学公布了创纪录的低录取率

By Anemona Hartocollis and Kate Taylor

It is harder than ever to get into a top-tier college. That was the message this week as several of the nation’s most selective universities trumpeted the news that they had record numbers of applicants — and record low admission rates.

本周美国几所最顶尖大学大肆宣扬他们创纪录的申请人数和创纪录的低录取率的相关新闻，从中给我们传递的信息就是----现在想被顶尖大学录取的难度前所未有。

But the news was also troubling for many parents and students in the wake of a vast  cheating scandal, in which federal investigators charged dozens of parents this month in a scheme to buy their children’s way into college.

但这一新闻也让许多家长和学生感到不安, 此前, 一场大规模的作弊丑闻发生后, 联邦调查人员本月向数十名家长提出涉嫌贿赂学校为孩子买进大学入读的指控。

In some ways, the cutthroat admission rates — and the image of exclusivity that comes with them — point to why those parents, several of whom appeared in federal court in Boston on Friday, were said to have bribed coaches and athletic directors to game an increasingly restrictive system.

在某些方面, 大学残酷的录取率--以及随之而来的排他性形象--指出了为什么这些家长 (其中有几位周五出现在了波士顿的联邦法院) 贿赂教练和体育主任以让他们的孩子加入越来越有限制性的运动系统。

“There’s a vicious cycle that fuels admission angst and spawns desperation,” said Sally Rubenstone, senior contributor to College Confidential, an online admissions forum. “Each year as elite-college acceptance rates get smaller, students apply to longer and longer lists of colleges to maximize their chances of good news.”

在线招生论坛《大学机密》的高级撰稿人萨莉·鲁本斯通说: "这个恶性循环助长了入学焦虑，也滋生了绝望情绪。"每年, 随着顶尖大学录取率的降低, 学生们申请的大学名单都会越来越长, 来最大限度地增加获得好消息的机会"

Several of the elite colleges named in court papers in the cheating scandal set admissions records this week. Yale’s admission rate sank to 5.91 percent from 6.31 percent last year, or 2,178 students out of a record-high pool of 36,843. The rate was 11 percent at the University of Southern California, the lowest ever, out of 66,000 freshman applications.

在作弊丑闻的法庭文件中, 几所顶尖大学本周创造了招生纪录。耶鲁的录取率从去年的6.31 下降到 5.91, 在创纪录的 36, 843 申请者中, 有 2, 178名学生被录取。南加州大学的录取比例为 11%, 新生申请达到 66, 000人,是有史以来最低的比例。

Colleges have a clear incentive to tamp down their admission rates, which figure in annual ranking surveys and help burnish schools’ sought-after status. At the same time, the plunging rates create more anxiety for students and parents as they weigh their higher education options. 大学降低录取率的动机很明显, 这有助于提升学校的紧俏地位，在年度排名调查中这也有所体现,。同时, 骤降的录取率也给学生和家长在权衡高等教育选择时带来了更多的焦虑。

Some schools have recognized that publicizing their admissions numbers helps fuel the madness of college admissions and have tried to pull back.

一些大学已经认识到, 公布录取人数会滋长大学申请过程中的不良情绪, 他们已试图把数据撤回。

Last year, Stanford University, which is also mentioned in court documents in the scandal, announced that it would no longer release admissions data to the public, only to the federal government. Last year, its acceptance rate was 4.3 percent for the Class of 2022, below those of Harvard and Yale.

去年, 作弊丑闻的法庭文件中也提到的斯坦福大学宣布, 将不再向公众公布招生数据, 而只向联邦政府公布。其 2 0 2 2年级学生去年的录取率为 4. 3%, 低于哈佛和耶鲁。

The rate at Harvard fell to 4.5 percent this year, down slightly from 4.6 percent last year. It also increased its share of Asian-American admits to 25.4 percent from 22.7 percent, at a time when it is waiting for a decision in a lawsuit accusing it of discriminating against Asian-American applicants.

今年哈佛的录取率从去年的4.6% 小幅下降到4.5%。在等待对其歧视亚裔美国申请者的诉讼裁决之际, 哈佛也将录取亚裔美国人的比例从22.7% 提高到25.4%。

Some parents said the record numbers reflected not more students applying, but the same students applying to more colleges. Pamela McCready-Huemer said her son and others who planned to take on popular majors like computer science and engineering had to hedge their bets.

一些家长表示, 创纪录的招生数据反映的不是申请的学生人数增多, 而是相同的申请者申请了更多的大学。帕米拉·麦肯泰-惠默说, 她的儿子和其他计划申请计算机科学和工程等热门专业的人不得不设法规避可能的风险。