On November 29, the Managing Board published an editorial titled “Slow to yield” arguing the need to implement a cap on the number of colleges that high school students can apply to via the Common Application. The need for such a measure, the article argues, is in order to stabilize the recent decline in yield rates for students receiving admission. The increasing disparity between the number of students receiving admission and those who actually choose to attend the college hinders accurate planning and organization for universities. One of the causes for this decline is attributed to the tendency for students to apply to a greater number of schools — 29 percents of high school students this year applied to a minimum of seven schools. While I recognize that for many schools the decline in yield rates presents a significant problem, I cannot promote the notion of implementing a cap on the number of colleges to which students should be allowed to apply. Implementing a cap would present multiple problems for high school students.
One of the primary reasons is the uncertainty of the amount of financial aid students receive. Generally, after a student has received an offer of admission, he or she will soon after also learn how much (or if any) financial aid he or she will receive for their first year. The amount of aid a student receives can be a crucial factor in his or her final decision to enroll in a school regardless of his or her overall impression of the school. A New York Times article reports a number of schools are struggling with decreased endowments and overall ability to provide sufficient financial aid offers. Research Director Gigi Jones at the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators said, “We’re still seeing a tightening of the budgets, and colleges trying to find ways that they’re still accessible but still stay afloat.” Other changes such as the shift from grants to loans, according to a recent New York Times article, can also impact a student’s decision to attend a school. Students need flexibility in their ability to apply to as many school as necessary in a time of financial aid uncertainty.
In addition, some colleges are changing their policies so that they will no longer adhere to a need-blind admissions policy, according to The New York Times. Colleges that practice need-blind admissions ignore a student’s financial situation during admission, and therefore focus solely on the student’s academic achievements in determining whether or not to offer admission. This shift away from need-blind could impact the admission of students, who prior to this policy change, would have greater chances of admissions, but now may not because of their financial situation. This shift implies greater uncertainty in admissions; thus, making it necessary for students to have the option to apply to a greater number of schools to secure admission at some university. Of course, they can simply choose to not apply to schools that make such a shift. But if they still choose to do so regardless of the chances of admissions, then a cap on the number of schools would limit students in their ability to apply to additional back-up college options.
Furthermore, the number of students pursuing a college education has increased in current years. Such an increase in applications implies that the number of students being rejected would also increase, causing uncertainty among college applicants. For the class of 2016, acceptance rates for Ivy League schools decreased in five of the eight schools. For the Ivy League schools, there were 240,000 high school students vying for 23,000 spots, according to The Huffington Post. The University has also seen an increase in the number of applicants. The point is that college admission has become more competitive, making the possibility of rejection greater. As a result, students need to be able to apply to greater number of schools to ensure admittance to some school. In such an environment, a cap would put students in a precarious position if they did not receive admittance in their desired schools.
One could argue that there has not necessarily been an increase in the number of students applying but rather an increase in the number of schools students are applying to, which would result in a greater number of applications. However, other trends, such as the 22.3 percent increase in international students, indicate otherwise. Furthermore, there has been more importance placed on college education despite the increasing difficulty in obtaining one. There are many positions available in STEM and other sectors; positions that require a college education. In a time of economic decline, many are perceiving college education as a way to obtain stability in the future.
I can understand the desire to implement a cap as the article “Slow to yield” argues. Nevertheless, such a cap would greatly hinder a student’s ability to attend a school that meets their academic and financial needs. If there must be such restrictions put into place, then at the very least, measures should be only taken when there is greater stability in college admissions, both in policy as well as other criteria.
Fariha Kabir’s column appears Wednesdays in The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at f.kabir@cavalierdaily.com.
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