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Undergraduate Admissions Uncensored

Early Decision applicants to make up nearly 60% of Boston University’s Class of 2028

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Those students who are being reviewed Regular Decision for Boston University’s Class of 2028 will receive their admissions decisions on Saturday, March 23, 2024. Such first-year applicants will receive emails when their decisions are available within their BU web accounts on the MyBU Applicant Portal.

The news comes as Boston University also announced that it received 78,634 applications for its Class of 2028, and 6,916 applications of these applications were submitted through BU’s binding Early Decision and Early Decision 2 programs. The ED numbers represent a 0.4% increase over last admissions cycle, and BU expects to enroll approximately 58-60% of its first-year class through ED1 or ED2. BU’s enrollment target for the Class of 2028 is now 3,300 students, which is 155 more than last year. For context, over 80,400 students applied to join BU’s Class of 2027, which was made up of 57% of students accepted through ED1 or ED2 and 43% of students accepted through Regular Decision. BU’s overall admit rate will end up at roughly 10.7% this year.

In total, only 42% of BU applicants during the 2023-2024 admissions cycle indicated an interest in having standardized test scores considered. Meanwhile, enrollment of first-generation, low-income, and students from underrepresented groups continues to be a priority for BU, and applications from first-generation college students made up 25% of BU’s applicant pool. International students contributed 15,469 applications to the mix, and these applicants hail from 167 countries.

Gary Canter’s February College Guy Rant

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Hey Seniors – greetings from the College Guy!

Man oh man time flies, doesn’t it? Winter’s grip has loosened here in Maine (well to be honest – it never really tightened) and those of you who applied Early Decision and Early Action have heard from your colleges by now. For those who are still waiting to hear from the colleges they applied to regular decision, hang tough. The most selective ones won’t spill the beans and tell you what’s up till mid-to-late march.

Here’s a chock-full-‘o-info College Guy Rant. Some of the stuff contained herein just may be of use to you and your folks, so take some time and read through it carefully…

I normally do not send out this till March, but given how the College Application landscape has changed, and the vast majority of students I work with have applied to many colleges using one of the Early plans, I think it’s appropriate to send this now.

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Parents: the FAFSA, bugs and all, needs to be submitted now if you want consideration for need based financial aid. If you’re not sure if you qualify I encourage you to apply. You can also feel free to give me a holler (that’s why I”m here, remember?) to discuss. You also need to submit the CSS PROFILE to the colleges your student has applied to which require it.

***

Here’s an old Boston Globe article that will have meaning to those of you who have not gotten the news you’d hoped for. If you’ve had a rejection (or several), read it.

***

Now lemme give you my “Chopped Liver” speech, which is what you’re gonna get from me when I find out that you’ve received decisions from your colleges without letting me know.

Many of you have been dutiful correspondents and have shared the good (and at times not-so-good) news with me, for which I’m appreciative. This is for the rest of you.

It goes like this: either you call me or I call you, or we run in to one another in the Old Port or Deering Neighborhood (that’s where I live) and I say something pithy like:

“So, what’s new?”

And you reply: “Well, I’m trying to decide between the acceptances I’ve gotten from Bard and Bates, but you know I was wait listed at Barnard and rejected at Brown, and also Beloit just offered me $26,000/year to go there, so I just don’t know what to do!”

“When did you hear all this?” sez I.

“Oh, I’ve known for a couple of weeks!” you reply.

…and I say something sparkly like: “Well, uh, duh, that’s great, like, were you planning on telling me? WHAT AM I, CHOPPED LIVER????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?????!? !!!!!!!!!??????!!!!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?”

So moral of the story here is to PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHEN YOU HEAR FROM YOUR SCHOOLS: good, bad or wait-list. I’d really appreciate it cause it helps me keep the pulse on what schools are up to from year to year, y’know what I mean?

And as an added incentive (not that you should need one), I’ve got a suggestion for things you can do if you get wait listed. Briefly, it’s an attempt to appeal the decision (without begging or getting all undignified), to make sure they didn’t mix you up with someone else, to let them know you’re still interested and to score some extra points toward them potentially taking you off the wait list and offering you an acceptance down the road.

Does that happen often? To be honest, no. But over the years I’ve seen more than a few qualified applicants successfully come off a wait-list after showing the school in question some love, desire and hustle. If you should get wait listed (or if you were deferred from early decision or early action) give me a holler and ask me about the “waiting list appeal”. You may still have some moves to make.

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Now for those of you who haven’t yet heard from some of your schools don’t get all nervous. Take a deep breath and….relax. The most selective colleges like to take their sweet time, and they’ve been known to keep you in suspense till the middle or even the end of March to send out their decisions. So take a chill pill and keep the waiting game going…Concentrate on something else, like the upcoming baseball season. Um, or your physics homework.

It should go without saying (though I’ll say it here anyway) that if you haven’t heard from a college you’ve applied to and you never received confirmation from them that they received your application, you need to call that school and ask what’s up! Sometime things get lost or mis-handled, and you don’t want to find out in May that your folder got wedged between file drawers or your application got mislabeled and lost in cyberspace.

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THINGS TO DO WHEN YOU’RE ACCEPTED BY A SCHOOL

When you do get a letter of acceptance, you should follow a standard protocol something like the following:

1. Feel good about yourself, say “hip hip hooray”

2. Read the letter carefully, take note of grants and scholarship awards, invitations to attend accepted student programs, and requests for deposits (check out what I have to say about this further on in the rant).

3. Let your guidance counselor and me know.

4. Feel good about yourself again, say “hip hip hooray” again

5. Call me old fashioned, but I think it’s a good thing to write a letter (or email) to the person who signed the admissions letter (usually the Dean of Admissions). Be gracious and grateful – ESPECIALLY IF THEY OFFERED YOU MONEY!!! – and let them know how excited you are. Then assure them that although you’re still waiting to hear from another school or two, you will be getting back to them very soon to further explore their offer of acceptance.

(NOTA BENE: all schools MUST give you till April 30th before non-refundable deposits are due and you make your final decisions. No rush here – don’t let yourself feel pressured)

6. If you’ve been in close contact with coaches, professors, other “pen pal” types at the schools which have accepted you, let them know the good news as well.

7. When you get accepted by your safety schools do the same thing (it’s good to be nice, and one never knows) and as you thank them you might delicately ask if they have moolah for you.

8. Continue to feel good about yourself, lord it over younger siblings, particularly the annoying ones, and remind your parents that they won’t have you around much longer so now’s the time for them to ply you with movie tickets, nice gifts and later curfews. Try saying “hip hip hooray” within earshot of them – they’re bound to be moved!

9. PARENTS TAKE NOTE: Make sure your financial aid applications have been received by each school and you’ve responded to any additional requests for information they may have made. Oftentimes these requests are in your students’ on line “portal” at the college’s web site, so make sure your student is properly registered at each of her schools and is checking there often and carefully. Follow directions and call financial aid offices for help if needed. If you’re confused or in a bind, give me a holler and I’ll try to help out.

Oh, and don’t let your senior manipulate you in to doing something foolish like increasing his allowance or taking the family van to see Boy Genius in New Jersey…expect her to try though!

******

Here’s a few important reminders to parents about paying for college and financial aid (and merit aid):

Within a week or two of getting an acceptance letter you should receive an official financial aid award (that is, if you applied for financial aid by submitting the FAFSA and, where required, the CSS PROFILE). If you haven’t received such an award letter, phone the financial aid office (not the admissions office) and ask them when you can expect to receive it.

Some schools will request that you go through a process called “Verification”. You may have to send them a copy of your taxes and another form or two they’ll direct you to. It’s annoying but not hard, and don’t be bashful about calling the school’s financial aid office and asking for clarification.

Remember, your son/daughter has until April 30 to make his/her final decision (that’s when deposits are due to the school they’re going to attend), but most folks can’t make that decision until they know what it’s going to cost. So you need to get financial aid information ASAP so you’ll know whether it’s going to be necessary to prepare an appeal for more money. Given the lateness of the FAFSA some colleges are even extending their final decision deadline to June 1, but don’t assume that unless you hear specifically from a college. Otherwise stick with April 30.

VERY IMPORTANT POINT FOR THOSE WHO QUALIFY FOR FINANCIAL AID: If you’re not pleased with the aid you’ve been given you can appeal for more. However, you’ve got to be able to make a compelling argument (meaning: you’ve got to need it, not just want it).

Each late winter/spring I work with many families who wish to make an appeal for additional aid. Get in touch with me if you have questions or want help interpreting an award letter, or composing an appeal strategy, There’s a right way and wrong way to ask for additional money. I’ll show you the right way to do it.

For those families who do not qualify for need based aid there is a way to inquire about merit aid from colleges which offer it. Give me a call if you want some suggestions.

*****

SCHOLARSHIPS:

Whether your family filed for financial aid or not, now is the time to be sending out scholarship applications. There are many sources of funds out there, but (sadly) most won’t give money to you. However making a time-efficient and strategic search and scholarship application blitz may not be a bad idea. Start right in your guidance office and ask about local scholarships – now is the time to be applying for them. If you’re not already registered with www.fastweb.com, sign up now.

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A FINAL POINT:

Remember that the purpose of financial aid is to fill the gap between the full cost of the school (tuition/fees plus room/board) and a family’s ability to pay and (reasonably) borrow (your Expected Family Contribution). Asking the college for more money is NOT, in my opinion, an exercise in merely “getting the best deal”, and this is an important distinction to make if you’re to be successful. If the FAO (financial aid officer) thinks you’re merely “shopping”, you won’t do as well. I tell parents to expect paying for college to hurt a little more than you’re hoping it will, but not a great deal more. If your child gets in, and if the college is a respectable one (and most are), you should have success appealing for more money once you explain your need and your true EFC. The months of March and April, when you’ve heard from all your schools, is the proper time to do this.

On that somber note, relax and enjoy the ever longer days, the NCAA basketball tournament, the impending start of the baseball season, and the wonderful and exciting changes which are in store for you in the coming months!

Stay groovy!

Gary

P.S. If you’ve read this far I suspect you appreciate all this information I’m laying out for you, despite the length. If you know of other students and their parents who would benefit from receiving my rants (particularly members of the class of 2025 and 2026 who are just starting this journey) I would be grateful if you would pass my name and contact information along to folks who may want to receive my future rants.

Thanks.

UMass to Release Regular Decision Notifications on March 5

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UMass Amherst will release Regular Decision (RD) admissions decisions on the evening on Tuesday, March 5, 2024.

In the past, UMass Amherst released RD decisions in waves. This year, all RD applicants will receive their decisions on the same date. RD applicants will receive an e-mail letting them know an admissions decision has been posted. Students are instructed to log into their UMass Amherst admissions portal to check their posted admission decision on the “Student Status” page. RD applicants will receive one of three decisions: Admit, Waitlist, or Deny.

UMass will invite all accepted students to campus shortly after decisions are released.

Earlier this cycle UMass announced that it received a record 30,000+ Early Action applications.

The top 23 songs to listen to while completing your college applications in 2023 are…

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Picture it. You are all alone in your bedroom at 11:47 p.m. on a Tuesday night.

By day you are an overloaded high school senior year who feels dominated by IB or AP course assignments, juggling the responsibilities that come with leading four time-sucking extracurricular activities, and cramming to get an A in every class for your first quarter report card.

Unlike your classmates who could best be described as one or more of the following —

  • Ivy League legacies
  • Recruitable athletes
  • Paying unscrupulous consultants to write their applications for them
  • Paying dastardly ‘doctors’ to write faux concussion, migraine, or Crohn’s Disease sick notes for them in order to secure very real SAT or ACT extended time testing accommodations
  • Full-pay international students
  • Completely disinterested in college (and, as a result, probably far smarter than you give them credit for)

— you are going to have to actually earn your way into an Ivy on your own! So, you find yourself staring at your computer screen at nearly midnight and into the abyss that is the Common Application filled with various application supplements that you have yet to complete.

By night, you must shift into truly high gear. You need inspiration. You are tapped out from doing somersaults throughout high school but you can’t afford to get tired now when there are so few spots at America’s ‘top’ colleges for students who actually have to earn their way into them on their own – with their own wits and moxie. Your fate will depend on your wisdom and your will – and whether or not a lot of legacies et al. are applying to your first choice college this year.

You have to work for at least two more hours to draft essays if your final essay drafts will ever be of the quality that they need to be to get you in. You turn to YouTube (which is also home to the great CollegeMeister channel) for a song or a soundtrack to pump you up; yet, most of the tracks that pop up aren’t capable of taking you to the level that you need to be at in order to pump out what you need to pump out tonight – and every night – between now and November 1, the date when you aim to submit all of your college applications to your one Early Decision, five Early Action, two Priority, and two Rolling admission colleges.

You turn to Google to find inspiration and you type in, “College Application Completion Playlists” or “Motivational Songs” or “EDM Motivation” or some other search query that gets you to this blessed page where you find yourself right now.

Lucky you.

Without further ado, here they are – the top 23 tracks in 2023 to have playing in the background as you complete your college applications, especially the essays, if you are serious about doing all that you can do to get in by virtue of your work ethic alone:

23. T-Pain – Best Love Song ft. Chris Brown

You really do need to consider your college application supplemental essays as individualized ‘love songs’ to each college on your list. If you write a generic love note or song to a potential love interest, he or she is not going to take your seriously, and the same goes with colleges getting a generic supplement from you. This track underscores the point that you are in the love song writing business until you are finished each and every app that has supplemental writing.

22. Johnny Nash – I Can See Clearly Now

That feeling you get either when your writer’s block clears or you realize the sun is rising and school starts in two hours.

21. Alex Gaudino feat. Crystal Waters – Destination Calabria

Because, let’s face it, even if you put in 200% effort over the coming nights, the “destination [is] unknown” and you very well may end up at Tulane or Wisconsin.

20. Ida Corr vs Fedde Le Grand Let Me Think About It (Extended)

“Give us your Top Ten List.” Come on Wake Forest! “Let me think about it.”

19. Better Off Alone

No. You won’t be better off alone. The very thought of a gap year “alone” scares/inspires you to complete a better application during the dead of night. Plus, you can’t afford a gap year to find yourself like Malia or your lax-playing buddies.

18. Gina G Ooh Aah Just A Little Bit

This one’s good because it reminds you that one day this will all be over. You can do it! “Just a little bit” more.

17. Viola Wills – If You Could Read My Mind

Why can’t the admissions officers “just read my mind” instead of forcing me to communicate well in 650 words or fewer? After all, you’ve likely endured an extremely poor education in English throughout your K-12 career due to too many English teachers being focused on serving up critical theory rather than traditional literary analysis, strong writing instruction, or any sort of celebration of the best works of Western Civilization. By the way, there are a lot of versions of this song, but we chose this one because Viola Wills put her soul into it – just like you will need to put your soul into your apps.

16. Lighthouse Family – High

“When you are close to tears remember, someday it will all be over, one day we’re going to get so high!” Enough said, but don’t do drugs, even if it’s legal.

15. Don’t Stop Believin’

Don’t stop believin’ that you will get in…unless you are honest and of Asian heritage, in which case, just stop believing because the Ivies value ‘diversity,’ which is code for ‘they have more Asians than they currently wish to accept.’ Your only hope is the Supreme Court.

14. The Jacksons – Can You Feel It [Audio HQ] HD

Can you feel the acceptance notifications coming your way?

13. Cass Elliot – Make Your Own Kind Of Music (live)

Because, really, you do need to be true to who you are and utterly unique if you are going to have any chance of getting into Harvard, Princeton, or Yale without any of the characteristics mentioned in that bulleted list above.

12. One Day More! – Les Misérables – 10th Anniversary Concert

Only play this one on October 31 – or the day before you know you will be finished your dastardly applications once and for all.

11. Michael Ball, Alfie Boe – He Lives In You (From “The Lion King” / Lyric Video)

Indeed, you must, “have faith” and “he does live in you!” You need to draw on generations of your ancestors to find strength. After all, if they could get through famines, wars, living without an iPhone, you can complete a few college applications.

10. Avicii – Levels

You need a good feeling or two right about now.

9. Jason Derulo – “Want To Want Me” (Official Video)

“It’s too hard to sleep…” Please, Columbia and Brown, I just “want you to want me”…despite you preferring well-connected social justice activists and loaded legacies…or better yet, those who check both of those boxes. :-/

8. Deorro x Chris Brown – Five More Hours (Official Video)

Whether you are up against the deadline on November 1 with just five more hours to go or “you are just getting started,” this one works.

7. P!nk – So What (Official Music Video)

“So, what?” Even if I have to go to Emory, “I’m still a rockstar!”

6. Bob Seger – Hollywood Nights (Lyrics)

At least you can comfort yourself knowing that you are not Aunt Becky or a Desperate Housewife out in “Hollywood” bribing the powers that be at USC for the honor of living in South Central LA for four years.

5. Let It Be (Remastered 2009)

Try your best and all, but maybe it’s time to just “let it be” and settle for Barrett Honors College at ASU?

4. Eric Prydz – Call On Me (Official HD Video)

You can always “call on me,” CollegeMeister Craig Meister, the best and most refreshingly honest college admissions coach on the planet. Cue this EDM classic.

3. Kygo & Whitney Houston – Higher Love (Official Video)

Okay, it’s a visual knockoff of Eric Prydz’s song above, but the vocals are pure – early Whitney Houston – and the accompaniment is rock solid and by Kygo. It’s of course far more current, though also feels classic. Not to mention the lyrics are perfect for ascending to the ‘higher’ level that you to need to reach in order to at least get into Cornell or Dartmouth.

2. Joel Corry x RAYE x David Guetta – BED [Official Video]

You’d much prefer to be in bed yourself, but lyrics like, “And I got work in the morning, early, early in the morning,” and, “Oh, and why’d I gotta do this the hard way?” certainly resonate. Other lyrics…well…let’s just say, I don’t advocate for premarital coition. Overall, this song certainly gets one pumped up, though it’s hard to get out of your head.

1. Kylie Minogue – Padam Padam (Official Video)

Did you know that Kylie Minogue is beating cancer? Really puts things in perspective. As a former colleague once told me when I was a bit stressed helping all my high school seniors, “Craig, the college admissions process isn’t life or death.” Very good advice. With that said, I know what it feels like when you hear your own heartbeat – “Padam Padam” – in your head because of adrenaline or apprehension. This track will at least help you harness being so hyped up for good. How can’t you be productive when you have it playing?

P.S.: As you wait for your admissions decisions, or as an alternate to some of the options above, how about playing on loop  “High Hopes” by Panic! At The Disco?

P.P.S.: Do realize that the above list is completely subjective and somewhat satirical – just like the crazy college admissions process at America’s most selective colleges; therefore, I apologize in advance if your favorite songs didn’t make the cut, if you don’t get in where you want, and/or if you are offended. Life’s unfair like that. Just remember that if you don’t get in, you need to sing this one last song out loud whenever your friends – and frienemies – get into their top choices:

You will survive!

Regular Decision at Emory University becomes more selective

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Emory University’s campus.

Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, has become more selective to get into when applying Regular Decision.

While approximately 78%, of admission offers at Emory are made Regular Decision and roughly 22% of offers are extended to Early Decision applicants, that doesn’t mean an applicant’s statistical odds of getting into Emory Regular Decision are better than getting in Early Decision. The university, which accepts first-year applicants into two colleges – Emory College and Oxford College, has shared that in 2023 Emory College’s Regular Decision acceptance rate was 8.4% and Oxford College’s Regular Decision acceptance rate was 15.1% whereas Emory’s overall Early Decision I acceptance rate earlier in the 2022-2023 admissions cycle was roughly 37%. Last year (2022), Emory accepted 9% of students who applied Regular Decision.

2023-2024 Regular Decision (RD) Applicant Pool

Emory College Oxford College
RD Applicants 29,330 18,612
RD Admits 2,463 2,815
Offered Spot on Wait List 5,663
(plus additional 199 placed on wait list from ED II)		 2,991
(plus additional 37 placed on wait list from ED II)

Regular Decision Admitted Class Composition

Emory College
RD Class		 Oxford College
RD Class
Mean Recalculated GPA 3.92 3.90
25-75th Percentile Max Testing (of students who opted to share their SAT or ACT scores with us) 1470-1560 1470-1550
% Admitted Without SAT/ACT 36% 33%
# of States Represented 50 plus DC, PR, VI, Mariana Islands, and Guam 49 plus DC, PR, and Guam
# of Non-US Citizenships 71 58

Of course, final acceptance rates are contingent on what action occurs on Emory’s waitlist.

Interestingly, only roughly one third of those accepted to both Emory College and Oxford College Regular Decision did not submit ACT or SAT scores. These numbers were a bit lower than numbers released earlier this cycle when 38% of the admitted Emory College Early Decision class and 41% of the Early Decision class admitted to Oxford College applied without an ACT or SAT score.

For Regular Decision at Emory College, nearly 22% of domestic admits would be the first generation in their family to graduate from college. The most represented high school states in the admitted RD class are Georgia, California, New York, Texas, and Florida respectively and the most represented high school countries in the admitted RD class are India, Canada, the United Kingdom, Brazil, and Singapore respectively. Approximately 9% of the Emory College RD admitted class are from rural or small town communities across the United States.

For Regular Decision at Oxford College, approximately 16% of domestic admits would be the first generation in their family to graduate from college. The most represented high school states in the admitted RD class, in order, are California, Georgia, New York, Texas, and Florida. The most represented high school countries in the admitted RD class, in order, are India, Canada, Brazil, the United Kingdom and China. Finally, as was the case with Emory College, approximately 9% of the Oxford College RD admitted class are from rural or small town communities across the United States.

Ultimately, the university is aiming to enroll 1,420 students at Emory College and 525 students (up from 450 last year) at Oxford College this fall.

Emory will remain test-optional for first-year and transfer applicants during the 2023-2024 admissions cycle.

Brown’s Regular Decision Acceptance Rate Now 3.8%

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Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.

Brown University’s Regular Decision admission decisions will be posted on Thursday, March 30 at 7:00 p.m. US Eastern Time, and, as in previous years, most students will not be thrilled by the decision they receive.

According to Logan Powell, Brown’s Dean of Admission, Brown received 51,302 applications for the Class of 2027, which represents a 1% increase over last year and makes the Class of 2027 applicant pool the largest in the university’s history. Brown will make 1,730 Regular Decision offers of admission to the incoming Class of 2027 in addition to the 879 Early Decision admission offers made in December. The overall acceptance rate for the 2022-2023 admissions cycle was 5%, the Regular Decision acceptance rate was 3.8%, and the Early Decision acceptance rate was 13%.

A total of 18% of accepted students represent the first generation in their family to attend college, and this year’s admitted students come from 90 countries, all 50 American states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. The top countries represented outside the United States are China, Canada, the United Kingdom, India, and South Korea.

Of the 4,192 applicants to the Program in Liberal Medical Education (PLME), 74 students were admitted with a 2% acceptance rate. Of the 916 applicants to the Brown-RISD Dual Degree Program, 20 students were admitted, also with a 2% acceptance rate.

If spaces in Brown’s entering class are available after the May 1 reply by date, Brown will make additional admission offers to students on its waitlist; yet, all spaces in the Program in Liberal Medical Education have been filled. The number of students admitted from the waitlist will depend on how many students accept Brown’s admission offers by May 1. In recent years, the number of waitlist spaces available in Brown’s incoming class has ranged from 15 to 120. Waitlist activity will conclude by mid-summer, and more information on the waitlist is available here.

Meanwhile, Brown will host two admitted student programs on campus for the Class of 2027. A Day on College Hill (ADOCH) will take place on April 14 and 21 for students who are able to visit Providence in person. Brown will also continue to support its admitted students with a variety of virtual programming that provides opportunities to explore, learn, ask questions and connect to Brown’s campus while showcasing Brown’s vibrant community.

NYU First Year Applications Spike 13%

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With its rapidly rising application numbers and rapidly dropping acceptance rate, New York University (NYU) is starting to live up to the classic lyric from the Frank Sinatra standard, “New York, New York:” “If I can make it there, I’ll make it anywhere.”

NYU’s notable application growth from first year applicants has led to the private New York City-based university receiving a startling 98,000 Regular Decision applications during the 2022-2023 admissions cycle. All in all, NYU received nearly 120,000 applications for its Class of 2027, which represents an increase of 13% from last year. In fact, NYU saw increases across all of its campuses and all of its schools in New York. NYU also has major campuses in Abu Dhabi and Shanghai.

The increased number of applications, combined with consistently growing yield rates over the past few years, has made for an incredibly competitive admission cycle that will lead to an overall acceptance rate “a number of percentage points lower than last year” according to Jonathan B. Williams, NYU’s Associate Vice President for Undergraduate Admissions.

Last year, (the 2021-2022 admissions cycle), NYU received 105,000 first year applications and had an overall acceptance rate of 12.2%. This means once it’s finalized, NYU’s overall acceptance rate will now be in or quite close to the single digits. As recently as the 2016-2017 admissions cycle, NYU was accepting over 20% of all applicants; that cycle NYU only received 67,000 applications.


Regular Decision applicants will receive one of several different decisions on Tuesday, March 28, 2023 depending on the options selected on their applications:

Admitted Students
In the vast majority of cases, students who are admitted receive an offer of admission to their first-choice campus and school. Students not admitted to their first choice are then considered for admission to an alternate choice school or campus. Students will receive only one decision from NYU, and no students are admitted to any campus, program, or major that they did not explicitly indicate interest in on their application.

Waitlisted Students
With such an incredibly competitive applicant pool, NYU’s Undergraduate Admissions team needed to make difficult decisions about students who presented very competitive applications. Students offered a place on NYU’s waitlist will be required to confirm that they wish to continue to be considered for admission should space become available. Typically, NYU does not review its waitlist until after May 1.

Waitlisted students may be admitted to begin in Fall 2023 or admitted to programs with Spring 2024 start options, specifically: Liberal Studies Core and select majors within the School of Professional Studies, Tandon School of Engineering, and the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development.

According to Williams, NYU’s waitlist comprises less than 15% of its applicant pool, and it is not ranked. Waitlisted applicants should not send any additional information beyond what is requested on the waitlist response form.

Denied Students
While rejection is hard, at least it may be a bit easier knowing that nine out of ten NYU applicants are meeting the same fate. Hopefully such applicants had some safety options on their college lists.

Boston University’s Overall Acceptance Rate Drops to 10.7%

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Boston University (BU) will be notifying Regular Decisions applicants tomorrow, Saturday, March 25, 2023.

According to Kelly A. Walter, BU’s Associate Vice President for Enrollment & Dean of Admissions, “It has been the single most challenging admissions cycle of my career given that we received 80,492 applications for just 3,100 seats in our first-year class…we had to make some extraordinarily difficult decisions about who was admitted to the class.”

BU’s overall acceptance rate during the 2022-2023 admissions cycle fell to just 10.7%. Last year, BU got a similar number of applicants but accepted roughly 14% of them.

Walter added that, “since we have been significantly overenrolled for each of the past two years, it was absolutely critical for us to plan for yet another increase in yield. As a result, we had no choice but to significantly decrease the number of students to whom we offered admission.”

BU’s Early Decision acceptance rate was roughly 25% this cycle.

Northwestern Releases Regular Decisions, Class of 2027 Statistics

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Northwestern University, located in Evanston, Illinois, finalized is Regular Decision selection process and notified applicants of their decisions today, Friday, March 24.

Overall, Northwestern reviewed over 52,000 first-year applications from over 10,000 high schools around the world for a class that will ultimately only include roughly 2,100 students, according to Liz Kinsley, Northwestern’s Associate Dean & Director, Undergraduate Admission. Last year Northwestern reviewed 51,554 applications.

Northwestern previously admitted about half of its incoming Class of 2027 through Early Decision, and the university’s overall admit rate will stay roughly 7%. Northwestern’s Fall 2022 ED applicant pool grew by 3.5% to just over 5,200 applicants. This means that Northwestern’s Early Decision acceptance rate now hovers around 20%. In addition to growth in volume, Northwestern saw growth in the number of secondary schools represented in its ED pool of applicants: the number of schools represented by ED applicants was up 22% overall with a 25% increase in U.S. public schools represented.

Students admitted Regular Decision have until May 1 to accept their offer. Official steps toward enrolling in the Class of 2027 are outlined on Northwestern’s Admitted Student Website and will also be mailed with an admit packet.

For applicants offered a place on Northwestern’s waitlist, the deadline to accept a waitlist offer is May 1. Students who accept a waitlist spot before April 15 will be asked to reconfirm their interest in the waitlist on that date; the university will reach out via email with reconfirmation steps. Northwestern’s waitlist is unranked, and waitlisted students are welcome to write the admissions office if they’re still particularly interested in Northwestern. Additional materials should be uploaded via the applicant portal or emailed.

In other news, high school students in the Class of 2024 should know that Northwestern has confirmed that it will remain test-optional for the 2023–2024 admissions cycle.

Northwestern University’s campus in Evanston, Illinois, USA.

USC First-Year Applications Up 17%

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University of Southern California received nearly 81,000 applications for first-year admission during the 2022-2023 admissions cycle, which is a 17% increase over last year. This comes after USC introduced Early Action as an application plan last summer.

Meanwhile, USC will make Regular Decision notifications later today, Friday, March 24. According to Kirk Brennan, USC’s Associate Dean and Director of Undergraduate Admission, “In hopes of minimizing disruption of school days around the globe, our release is scheduled for the late afternoon Pacific time. Students should wait for our email stating the status is available before visiting the USC applicant portal.”

Ultimately, the university will accept around 8,000 first-year applicants for fall 2023 admission, which includes the 2,470 admitted through Early Action. Though this total is only slightly smaller than last year, with the increased application numbers, the competition for limited space was noticeably higher. USC will post final enrollment statistics later this year.

Tomorrow, Saturday, March 25, USC will email approximately 1,000 admitted students results of their merit scholarship application.

USC does not use a waiting list. Instead, it offers a smaller group of students (roughly 1,200 this year) admission to the spring term, which begins in January 2024. If after May 1 USC has room in its fall class, it will invite some spring admits to change their term to fall. All students who submit their spring Intent to Enroll form by May 1 will be considered for any available space. Students in this situation are asked to refrain from sending any other documents to be considered for fall.

In other news, the LA-based research university announced earlier this month that it will now have a new campus in Washington, DC.