College Expert Replies To Kids Who Say Universities With High Acceptance Rates Are For ‘Dumb’ Students
"It's a false narrative."
Jorge Salcedo / Shutterstock There are all kinds of misconceptions about college that can confuse students preparing to pursue higher education. Many of these ideas couldn’t be further from the truth, but they still affect kids getting ready for college.
College expert, Harlan Cohen, is doing his part to dispel these myths surrounding the college experience.
Recently, Cohen was asked about the truth behind colleges that have high acceptance rates.
Cohen, an author and speaker who has devoted much of his time to helping high school and college students, received a question on TikTok from a concerned parent.
“My daughter seems to be getting fed messages from peers about colleges with high acceptance rates are for dumb people or bad,” they stated. “Curious if you’d posted on this topic yet?”
Cohen was happy to answer the parent’s question.
“Colleges that accept fewer people are just colleges that accept fewer people,” he stated plainly. “It doesn’t mean the people going to that school are going to live any better lives.”
Actually, Cohen argued that schools that accept more students are better in some ways for students who excel.
“In fact, going to schools that are less selective, if you are a student who is exceptional, gives you more opportunities for more experiences,” he said. “There’s incredible faculty. There are research opportunities. You oftentimes have access to clubs and activities.”
Cohen emphasized the fact that “exceptional students” can shine at schools with higher acceptance rates.
“You can do more and you can be even more exceptional because there’s room for you to stand out,” he said.
Selective colleges are not necessarily better, they're just harder to get into.
It feels like the notion that more selective or highly competitive schools are better somehow has been drilled into high school students who are trying to make the difficult choice of where to attend college. But, Cohen isn’t the only one saying that line of thinking is simply not true.
“There’s research. There’s data. There’s also a book called "Where You Go Is Not Who You’ll Be" by Frank Bruni that spells this out,” Cohen said.
College Advisor backed this up, writing, “Simply put, college acceptance rates are a ratio — the number of total applicants to accepted students. For example, if 100 people apply to a college and 10 are accepted, the college has a 10% acceptance rate.”
It’s important to remember that acceptance rates are really just a number. According to College Advisor, “College acceptance rates do not inherently speak to the quality of students who applied, just the quantity. Moreover, college acceptance rates do not speak to the quality of education that each student will receive at a particular university.”
Cohen also pointed out the importance of not falling into the trap of comparison.
“Students love to compare themselves to one another, and the Common App has made it even easier for schools to take advantage of these numbers, the numbers of applications, because students are applying to more schools than ever before,” he said.
“So the game is to inflate these numbers to lower the admission rate so people feel like it’s more special,” Cohen continued. “But it’s not more special. It just is a place that sometimes could be more expensive and more stressful, and not any more beneficial.”
Prospective students need to remember that finding a school where they are comfortable and happy is much more important than how difficult it is to get accepted.
It’s understandable why students want to attend colleges with lower acceptance rates. Although experts like Cohen insist they aren’t more special, they certainly feel that way. It feels like an accomplishment.
However, it’s important to remember that getting into college is an accomplishment regardless of the school. What’s truly special is the experience one is able to have and the way one is able to shine in their own way.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer for YourTango who covers entertainment, news and human interest topics.