Highly Selective Colleges and Universities

Unlike state schools, private schools, and community colleges, there is no standard definition for a highly selective school. Still, about 30 private colleges and universities, along with a few public institutions, such as University of Michigan, University of Pennsylvania, and University of Virginia, are considered highly selective.
These highly selective schools are, quite frankly, really tough to get into. Some have traditionally had very high admissions standards; others have, of late, become much more selective. In fact, compared to 1992, admissions standards for four-year private institutions were higher in the year 2000— higher tests scores, higher GPA/class rank. Additionally, acceptance rates were lower. The bottom line? More highly qualified applicants are competing for limited space in highly selective private schools. Admissions officers wade through pools of applicants, plucking out the best of the best. But this is no random plucking. They’re attempting to sculpt well-rounded classes, bringing together students who will learn from one another. They want athletes and musicians and thinkers and artists and leaders. And they get very specific. As one private admissions consultant said, “If Harvard is losing a tuba player, then Harvard is conscious of that.” These schools consider just about everything, right down to geography. If you live in an area that tends not to send lots of students to highly selective schools, you may stand a better chance of admittance than students in a private, prep high school—but only if your test scores are way up there. So check criteria for admission in those big books in your school’s counseling office, study the profiles of typical entering students, and be sure to apply to a couple safety schools where you are positive of being accepted.
There are benefits to being one of the chosen few. You’re among students who, for downtime, talk about Chaucer or Jung or AIDS in Africa.
You may make contacts that lead to professions such as investment banking, where starting salaries are close to six figures. You receive instant respect for applications to postgraduate degree programs—and bragging rights for you and your parents, which is important to some.