What the CA did for GA Tech

[8filltheheart]

I just received this in an email. Wowsers, their application rate increased 46% from last yr. (This was their first yr using the CA)

 

 

So, just thinking in terms of how USNWR ranks, since their application rate increased and their admit rate decreased, does this mean their ranking will be impacted? (but nothing academically w/the school has changed at all.) ???

 

I just received this in an email.   Wowsers, their application rate increased 46% from last yr.   (This was their first yr using the CA)

 

 

So, just thinking in terms of how USNWR ranks, since their application rate increased and their admit rate decreased, does this mean their ranking will be impacted?  (but nothing academically w/the school has changed at all.)  ???

 

 

If USNWR keeps their same metrics, and assuming GA Tech's peers haven't changed, yes, this should "improve" their ranking.

 

I have to wonder if every single one of these applications is read by a human being.  Or, if they are, how much human time is spent looking at the least-competitive applications.

[bettyandbob]

Acceptance rates at most colleges are not based on complete applications. They count all the applications started as an application and compare that number to the amount admitted. Many people start applications and then decide they don't want to apply to a school so they never complete the paperwork so the application is never actually considered by the admissions committee. With common application there are many more colleges to which people start the application process. A more accurate evaluation of competitive admission would be to compare the number of applications completed and evaluated by the admissions committee to the number of applicants admitted.

[8filltheheart]

I have no idea.   I didn't even read the entire email since ds has moved on to other options.  But, I was shocked by the 46% increase.   That is a lot more.  Curiosity has me wondering what they anticipated their increase to be before the application season started.

[Teachin'Mine]

Yup, number of applicants will likely raise their ranking, possibly substantially.   Anyone know when US News comes out with the new rankings?

[Kathy in Richmond]

Yes, GA Tech will probably get a bump in the rankings if it's anything like what happened with U Chicago. When N was applying to college (Class of 2010), Chicago used their "Uncommon App" and had a 40% acceptance rate & 15ish ranking. Acceptance rates fell and rankings went up dramaticaly when they adopted the Common App for the class on 2013. Now they're only accepting about 9% and are tied for 5th in the USNWR rankings.

 

 

[plansrme]

 

  (but nothing academically w/the school has changed at all.)  ???

 

 

THIS is one of the huge pet peeves I have developed while living in Georgia.  Since the HOPE scholarship has come about, U.Ga. has gotten incredibly competitive.  Going to other fine Big State Us, such as oh, I don't know, Auburn maybe, that historically have had higher SAT scores than U.Ga., is now considered a slacker route when it used to be just the opposite. Everyone thinks U.Ga. is such a great school now that its average SAT scores are in the stratosphere.  But it is the same school it has always been!  It's just free now, and difficult to get into, and almost everyone who would be competitive at the Ivies or similar big-name OOS schools just goes to U.Ga. instead.   Tech probably had to go to the Common App just to compete with U.Ga. in ratings, which is silly, because everyone knows Tech is harder.

 

I obviously have seriously mixed feelings about the HOPE scholarship, and now the Common App is having a similar effect.

 

Interesting statistics, 8.  Thanks for sharing.

[creekland]

Everyone thinks U.Ga. is such a great school now that its average SAT scores are in the stratosphere.  But it is the same school it has always been! 

 

I don't think this is true.  I think when a school increases the ability of its incoming freshman class, profs can do far more with them and could easily adjust their courses accordingly just as high school teachers (or homeschoolers) can adjust their classes for different caliber students.

 

I don't think there's a student difference between 1500 and 1600 (all three sections), but from my experience, there's a huge difference between 1500 and 2000+.  I'll admit to not knowing the SAT averages before and after, but I suspect there is a difference in the school before and after and that it will be changing for the better with a higher caliber student.

 

 

I just received this in an email.   Wowsers, their application rate increased 46% from last yr.   (This was their first yr using the CA)

 

 

So, just thinking in terms of how USNWR ranks, since their application rate increased and their admit rate decreased, does this mean their ranking will be impacted?  (but nothing academically w/the school has changed at all.)  ???

 

 

From "collegeapps.about.com", in 2012 (so, class of 2016?), the 25th and 75th percentiles of SATs were 1860/2150 and 28/32 for composite ACT, with 51% of applicants admitted.. This year's was 2050/2240 and 30/33 with 33% admitted.  So, the actual top end of the test scores haven't gone up astronomically, but the low end has risen, and the spread is much smaller.

 

And I totally agree with Creekland's assessment that a college student's peers can have a huge impact on the college experience.

[creekland]

From "collegeapps.about.com", in 2012 (so, class of 2016?), the 25th and 75th percentiles of SATs were 1860/2150 and 28/32 for composite ACT, with 51% of applicants admitted.. This year's was 2050/2240 and 30/33 with 33% admitted.  So, the actual top end of the test scores haven't gone up astronomically, but the low end has risen, and the spread is much smaller.

 

And I totally agree with Creekland's assessment that a college student's peers can have a huge impact on the college experience.

 

So, their bottom rose almost 200 pts.  I would consider that significant enough to think they'll improve.  They are now 75%+ in the 2000+ range, and personally, once in the 2000+ range I think the academic talent levels out a bit (based upon what I've seen at school).  Scores, of course, do not take work ethic into play, so not all students will do extremely well - just like at any other school - but the capability is there for the professors to work more deeply with. 

 

[plansrme]

I don't think this is true.  I think when a school increases the ability of its incoming freshman class, profs can do far more with them and could easily adjust their courses accordingly just as high school teachers (or homeschoolers) can adjust their classes for different caliber students.

 

I don't think there's a student difference between 1500 and 1600 (all three sections), but from my experience, there's a huge difference between 1500 and 2000+.  I'll admit to not knowing the SAT averages before and after, but I suspect there is a difference in the school before and after and that it will be changing for the better with a higher caliber student.

 

 

This doesn't apply for the CA, but for the HOPE, any such benefit has been watered down by a couple of things:  

 

(1) Grade inflation pressures, as there is a minimum GPA to keep the HOPE.  Students avoid more difficult majors to keep their HOPE, and professors are pressed to give out grades that will not jeopardize their students' scholarships.

 

(2) High school GPAs' are similarly inflated, so you end up with students with decent SATs who lack the work ethic or study skills to make the grades when they get to college.

 

(3) Lack of competition for the strongest students in the state is never a good thing.  U.Ga no longer has to compete with nearby Big State Us or more elite schools for top students; they get hundreds of top performers handed to them every year on a big silver HOPE-shaped platter.  There is no incentive at all for them to go deeper or to provide a better learning experience for the kids they have; in fact, quite the opposite is true:  there is every incentive for them to hand out good grades as if they are candy and keep the stream of students flowing.  Certainly that is not true of all professors, but human nature begin what it is, I wouldn't be surprised if it is true for the majority.

 

Tech, according to local lore, does not have the same issues U.Ga. has from the HOPE because it is traditionally been regarded as too stinkin' hard, but that could be wrong--it is just my general impression.  The CA, at least (which is the topic of this thread--sorry for the tangent) should not have the same effect.  I would hope not, anyway.  But the fact remains that Tech is going to go way up in the ratings without changing a blessed thing.  And that is more a commentary on the ratings than on Tech or the CA.