Acceptance rates have been getting lower and lower for competitive colleges and universities in recent years, and this year was no exception. Students that may have easily gotten into top schools a few years ago are being rejected now. The University of Pennsylvania, for example, which had an acceptance rate of 20.5% back in 2007, now has a rate of only 9.1%. Harvard is getting more selective, with their rate now down to a low of 5.2% this year.  New York University’s acceptance rate dropped 5% in the last year alone.  

Garnet Valley students are no exception when it comes to these new standards. It seems that fewer and fewer students are able to get into their top choice of school. With the best colleges becoming more selective, even kids at the top of the class struggle to get in. There are most likely many causes for this nationwide decrease in acceptance, but the bottom line is it is getting to be exceedingly difficult for students to go where they want.

Next year’s seniors should be conscious of this, as this decrease in acceptance rates shows no signs of stopping, and incoming juniors need to be aware that the classes they take and the choices they make in the next year are crucial to getting into these increasingly competitive universities.