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| Stanford University |
Giving Harvard a few extra days to sort through
applications and possibly tighten screws on selectivity, Stanford retained bragging rights yesterday
as the single most selective college in the county. Out of 42,487 applicants—the
largest pool in Stanford’s history—1,402 high school seniors were tapped for
the Class of 2019, in addition to the 742 early
action students accepted in December.
And at 5.05 percent, this year’s
undergraduate admissions rate is slightly lower than last year’s rate of 5.07
and lower than the numbers Harvard posted yesterday afternoon.
Make no mistake. Harvard’s selectivity was nothing short of
breathtaking at 5.3 percent—the lowest in the Ivy League. On Tuesday evening, Harvard
announced that 1,990 students had been selected out of a pool of 37,305
applicants for the Class of 2019. Harvard
had already invited 977 students through its restrictive
early action program, adding 1,013 students during the regular decision
round.
But for the third consecutive year,
Stanford bested Harvard as well as the rest of the Ivies at the selectivity
game.
"We are honored by the
interest in Stanford and the experiences shared by all prospective students
through the application process," said Richard Shaw, dean of admission and
financial aid (ironically the former Yale
Dean of Admission—Harvard’s traditional 'old school' rival). "The
young people admitted to the Class of 2019 will engage their undergraduate
years at Stanford with energy and initiative. The opportunities at Stanford are
limitless, and our newly enhanced financial support makes these opportunities
more accessible than ever before."
In their respective admissions
announcements, both Stanford and Harvard took the opportunity to describe special
efforts to reach low-income and minority students.
At
Stanford, an expanded financial aid initiative means that no parental
contribution toward tuition will be expected for those with annual incomes
below $125,000, and no parental contribution toward tuition, room or board will
be expected for those below $65,000.
On the other side of the country, Harvard’s
Dean Fitzsimmons credited an increase in diversity among admitted students
with a targeted outreach effort, which clearly resulted in a greater total
number of applications to the college on the Charles.
And both schools were successful in
their plans to increase diversity among members of the Class of 2019.
But the competition doesn’t end with
offers of admission.
While Stanford won the selectivity competition
for the Class of 2019, the true test will come when numbers are tallied and
final yield
is computed. In other words, both
schools will be anxiously awaiting responses from students they have admitted.
Harvard has traditionally boasted of
a higher yield than Stanford, but even this difference is
shrinking as more students elect to go west and reap the benefits of year-round
sunshine. And if relative yields get
much closer, there may be some changes at the top of the US News rankings.
This year, as in the past, both
parents and students in The Princeton Review’s “College
Hopes & Worries Survey,” said they would pick Stanford over Harvard, Princeton, and Yale if they could go to
any school regardless of cost.
And it clearly concerns the folks
in Cambridge, one of whom remarked, “Even if it isn’t the weather, make
out parties, or chances of becoming a reality TV star that is drawing students
to the west coast school, something about Stanford’s popularity is definitely
on the rise.”
There’s no question about it. The weather is definitely nicer in Palo Alto
and palm trees are a nice touch.
“I wonder how many of those admitted
will accept Stanford's offer. After all, who wants to live in a farm with
Spanish architecture and a bunch of ducks?
Eww…,” remarked a commenter on the Stanford Daily
website a couple of years ago.
Quite a few, evidently.
Disclaimer: In 2006, the author’s son turned down an
offer from Harvard to head west to Stanford, and he’s still there.
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