College Admissions in the Past
Photo from Unsplash
April 18, 2022
The college admissions process has dramatically changed in the past thirty years. Currently, more adolescents are choosing to attend college than ever before. Throughout the past decades, the college admission process system has been improved and changed in numerous ways. The improvements brought over time have shown to benefit the students. COVID-19 has pushed colleges to change how schools look at application, and requirements.
In the past, the acceptance rate to elite colleges have decreased, a prominent way college administration has changed. According to KD college prep the competition to be accepted into elite colleges is higher than ever before. Mr. Ojeda, math teacher at LJHS, was asked whether he thought the college admissions process is harder today and he stated, “Well it depends on the school, it’s harder now to get into UC schools, but getting into normal colleges is easier. UC schools are harder to get into because so many people want to go.” Well it depends on the school, it’s harder now to get into UC schools, but getting into normal colleges is easier. — Mr. Ojeda, math teacher
Non-Ivy League colleges in the United States have seen an increase in acceptance rates in the past 18 years. According to KD College Prep, in the past thirty years college tuition has increased five times more than an average family income. About 69% of students who have graduated from public and private nonprofit colleges in 2019, had a student loan at an average of $29,900. In more recent years, changes are occurring in standardized testing for the students.
Due to the recent spread of Covid-19, many new health regulations have been adopted to fit the circumstances. Starting now, all the colleges are accepting SAT or ACT test scores. Since college admission has increasingly become more competitive over the years, it is recommended students take both tests to highlight their skills in academics. When senior Muhammad Suleman was asked what he though the hardest past about his collage applications process was he replied with, “The hardest part was writing some collage application essays.” There have also been perks in relation to college admissions over time. It’s become easier than ever to apply to colleges, resulting in students applying to more schools.
Common application is an increasingly popular app, with over 800 universities that allows students to apply to multiple colleges at one time. The constant development of the internet has made students’ lives easier today. One of those ways is the introduction of digital footprint. Today, social media accounts are on occasion taken into consideration when applying to colleges. According to Inside Higher Ed, about 36% of college admission officers say they will look at one’s social media presence. The accessibility to research is another way the evolution of the internet has helped those going through the college process. Today it is much easier to research colleges. Some are unable to travel to look at colleges across the country, so in this most recent time, it is easy to research any aspect of the college in depth.
Overall the college admissions process has improved in a great deal of ways. New technology advancements, cultural challenges, the spread of COVID-19, are just a few factors that have made the college process both different and difficult.
