Explore College Stats, Acceptance Rates, & Definitions

Across the United States, there are nearly 4,000 private and public colleges and universities from which students can choose. This is both a good thing, and a bad thing. Good, because it means there’s a suitable college for anyone seeking a quality secondary education. But bad, because upcoming students need to work hard to know which schools will be a good fit for them both academically and personally, plus whether their high school acumen and test scores will gain them acceptance.

At Prelum, powered by Kaplan, we’ve partnered with top universities and colleges across the country to provide college prep programs, giving high school students the chance to test out their interests before even applying to colleges. These academic enrichment courses give students like you the opportunity to see whether the style of education provided by our schools meshes with your needs and personality. 

But what else can you do to start preparing for your own educational journey? Studying the school’s statistics, such as size and acceptance rate, is a good start. 

How to Decipher a College’s Acceptance Rate

If you’re preparing to begin your own search for secondary education, studying a school’s acceptance statistics is a good place to start. Why? Because it will help you understand the factors that sway acceptance, including the size of the school, how many people they typically accept annually, and how many actually make that school their university of choice. But first, let’s start with a few definitions. 

Definitions Needed

• Acceptance Rate – College selectivity is often measured by the school’s acceptance rate. Acceptance rates are measured as the number of accepted candidates divided by the number of total applicants.

• Early Acceptance – A type of early admission policy used in college admissions in the U.S. for freshmen applying to undergraduate programs. There are two types of early college admissions: early decision and early action.

• Early Action – A non-binding attendance commitment to the university of your choice. Meaning that if admitted, you are not obligated to attend the institution. This holds the advantage of not being obligated to attend that particular school. 

• Early Decision – A binding school attendance commitment. Meaning if you apply for early decision, you are obligated to attend the selected college if you’re accepted. You can only apply to one school early decision because of the binding commitment. Experts recommend only applying for early decision if you have a clear top-choice school. 

• SAT/ACT 25-75% Range – In practical terms, aiming for an SAT/ACT score at or above the 75th percentile is considered favorable for college admissions. It reflects a strong performance relative to other applicants. Anything below the 25% mark could indicate difficulty in gaining admittance.

• Score Choice – A reporting policy set individually by the College Board and the ACT, score choice gives students control over which tests colleges will see. The SAT sends all scores by default, unless you choose to activate the score choice option. The ACT sends only scores you request. Note: some schools do not follow score choice policies and will request all test scores.
  
• Superscoring – Colleges with the superscoring admissions policy consider the best section score from each test you submit, for either the SAT or ACT. For example, if you score better on math on one SAT attempt, and better on verbal in another, you can submit both test results to maximize your overall SAT score for their records. Note: If you choose to superscore, you must send the complete score report from each relevant test date. 

• Test Optional – A college or university with a test-optional admissions policy does not require an SAT or ACT score with an application, but will consider those scores if submitted. Institutions with this policy generally prioritize other aspects of the application, such as GPA, personal essay, and recommendations. Currently, about one out of three universities are test optional. 

• Test Percentage – SAT and ACT submission percentages indicate the percentage of applicants sending SAT scores versus ACT scores to a particular institution. 
  
• Yield – A measure of the school’s ability to enroll its accepted candidates. While the most selective schools, notably the top Ivy League universities, yield a very high percentage of candidates, many competitive schools enroll fewer than half of their admission candidates. 

Now, let’s take a look at a few select Prelum partners to review all their relevant admittance statistics, as stated by U.S. News & World Report. As you’ll see, some schools prefer students to choose early acceptance, while others have a high yield rate.

Whether you’re ultimately seeking jobs that matter and pay well, or you’re just starting your due diligence in preparing your college application, starting as early as 13 years and older gives you a leg up. Taking pre-college enrichment, and understanding what types of schools you wish to apply to are both excellent, advisable first steps. Good luck!