Webinar Transcript: 2023 Admissions Trends: What’s Changed?
Elton Lin
Anna Lu: Welcome everyone, good evening. Thanks for joining us.
We're tackling a pretty interesting topic tonight – because now that summer's here (happy June!) we're going to look back at this past 2022-2023 admissions cycle, and talk through some of the trends we've been seeing in college admissions.
This should be really valuable information for rising seniors – of course – but also juniors maybe; even students who aren't in high school yet, if you're getting a head start – just as students plan out their next few years, and prepare for their own college application cycles.
Joining us today to give us this rundown on admissions trends is Katie: one of our ILUMIN Educational Consultants. Katie, can you introduce yourself to everyone?
Katie Anderson: Yeah. Hi everyone, my name is Katie – and I am one of the Educational Consultants here at ILUMIN, looking forward to going over the admissions trends that we discovered over this past year with you.
I'm going to go ahead and get started (in the interest of time); we have a lot of ground to cover today!
Overview
Identify major trends around college admissions
Review case studies of ILUMIN students
Describe how ILUMIN can support your journey to college
Katie Anderson: Just a little bit of an overview: what to expect in our conversation.
We're going to start with identifying some major trends happening around college admissions in general: a broad overview, just to give you some inside information.
We're going to also review some case studies of our ILUMIN students – just to give you some more specific perspective there.
And also talk you through how ILUMIN can support your individual journey to college – whatever grade level you may be at.
Trend 1: Colleges are investing in Early Decision.
Katie Anderson: The first trend that we're going to dive into here is that colleges are investing more and more – it seems – in “early decision.”
I'm sure there's a lot of confusion when it comes to early decision: “Should I do it? Should I not? What does this mean for me?” I really want to spend some time in particular on this first trend.
Early Decision (ED) and ED II
Students may only apply to one college on the ED (or ED II) plan
Deadlines: ED November-December, ED II January (February)
Potential results:
Accepted: student must attend based on ED agreement
Deferred: student moved to regular deadline and released from ED agreement. Student may apply to another college’s ED II program.
Rejected: student may not re-apply on the regular deadline. Student may apply to another college’s ED II program.
Katie Anderson: I'm going to define just a few key terms here. Some students and families may be more familiar with this – maybe some of our rising seniors, for example. But other students may not be sure yet. So I'm just going to give you a few definitions here to start off.
There's early decision – which I'll refer to as “ED,” and early decision 2 (ED II).
With the “early decision” plan, students may only apply to one college (when they are applying for early decision or early decision 2). I think that's the key piece of information here: you are limited to the one school.
The deadlines are going to be on the earlier side. Early decision is typically due beginning of November. Early decision 2: beginning of January.
At the same time, you do receive your admission decision, also, a little bit sooner. For ED, in December you'll find out, and for ED II, you'll find out in February.
Should you decide to move forward with the early decision pathway, there are a few possible results that can happen.
First is, obviously, a student's accepted – so that's the best-case scenario. If a student is accepted through their early decision school, they do have to attend – based on the early decision agreement, which I will also go over here shortly as well.
The second possible result is “deferred.” If a student is “deferred,” they are moved to the regular deadline – and they're released essentially from that early decision agreement. At that point, students have the option to apply to another college's early decision 2 program. You're just moving into the regular deadline – and then you have different options to pursue, moving forward.
The third possible result is rejection. If a student is rejected, at that point they may not re-apply on the regular deadline. However, students can still apply to another college's ED II program.
So that's the really high-level overview when it comes to ED and ED II – just to define some of those possible results, and what that looks like.
Why do colleges like ED?
Yield
Colleges don’t like guess work! The more seats they can fill from ED, the better.
Fit
Colleges want to accept students who want to attend!
ED is the ultimate form of demonstrated interest.
Competition
Colleges want to snag the applicants who will meet their institutional priorities (e.g. first gen, rural, low income, minority, Classics majors)
Katie Anderson: A common question is: “Why do colleges like ‘early decision’?” or, “Why are we seeing this as a trend, especially in these last few years?”
A couple different reasons here.
The first is “yield.” Colleges (like most of us) don't really like guesswork. The more seats that they can fill from the early decision period, the better.
The next one is “fit.” Colleges want to accept students who are actually wanting to attend their university. “Early decision” is basically the highest form of “demonstrated interest”: if a student is choosing that one college to apply to, it really shows the university that that student is interested!
The third one is competition (between schools). Colleges are looking to snag the applicants who meet their “institutional priorities”. That can look a little different depending on the college. They may be looking for diversity. They may be looking to have first generation students, or minority students, or even specific majors: for example, sometimes majors in the humanities (like Classics or philosophy).
There are a few reasons why colleges are particularly interested in the early decision applicants.
More colleges are leaning into ED
Katie Anderson: What this image is showing us is how the growth has happened over the last few years in the actual early decision plan (the percentage of students admitted through ED from 2015 to 2020).
A few examples:
Pitzer College, in 2015, had 44% of their freshman admits through early decision… and in 2020 we're seeing that jump to about 79%: pretty significant increase!
A second one is Washington University in St. Louis. In 2015 we're seeing about 36% of the freshman enrollment through ED. In 2020 we're seeing it jump to about 60% – so, again, pretty significant increase there, even in those few years.
One final example here is Boston University: this is a pretty big increase. In 2015 we're seeing about 20% of freshman admits from early decision… and in 2020 we're seeing that at about 57%!
That's the key trend that we're seeing, and that's the purpose of showing you this particular image – but the takeaway really is that early decision is definitely increasing. Even though this is through 2020, we're continuing to see that growth as we look at the 2021 and 2022 cycles.
Popularity of early applications
50% of applicants apply to at least one college on the early timeline
NYU: 22,000 ED apps (+14% from 2021-22 cycle)
Brown: 6,770 ED apps (+10% from 2021-22 cycle)
Dartmouth +14% apps. (19% acceptance rate vs. 25% 2021-22 cycle)
UNC’s early action applicants increased 10%
On average, colleges fill 50-60% of their incoming class through ED
Duke: 51%
Johns Hopkins: 49%
More early applicants also means more deferrals
Wisconsin deferred 17,000/45,000 (38%) EA applicants
USC deferred 94% of its early pool
Katie Anderson: I'm just going to run through a few more statistics here – just to paint this picture for you.
To start off, about 50% of applicants apply to at least one college on the early timeline. So that's a pretty high number of students who are applying early.
When we look at (for example) a few different colleges here:
NYU had 22,000 early decision applicants. That was an increase of about 14% from the 2021-2022 application cycle.
Brown is similar: really high numbers – over 6,700 early decision apps (about a 10% increase from the 2021-2022 cycle).
Dartmouth is similar: about a 14% increase in early decision apps.
And UNC's early applications increased 10% as well.
We're seeing this trend of an increase of students who are applying early decision, and on average colleges are filling 50%-60% of their incoming class through early decision. That's a pretty significant chunk of the incoming freshman class!
At Duke we're seeing 51% of the class admitted early decision.
Johns Hopkins: 49%.
So ED really makes up a big part of the potential incoming class. That's also important to think about in this particular case.
With that in mind, this increase in early decision applicants is also increasing the deferrals. Just a quick reminder: “deferral” means that you aren't rejected; you're just getting moved to the regular deadline period.
So, two examples here:
Wisconsin deferred 17,000 out of the 45,000 early application applicants (38%).
USC deferred 94% of its early pool.
This isn't meant to discourage you! It's just to show you what's happening: with this increase in early decision apps, we're also seeing an increase in deferrals as well. (We'll talk about that a little bit more in a moment as well.)
ED acceptance vs RD acceptance
| College | ED Admit Rate | % of Incoming Class | RD Admit Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brown | 18% | 52% | 4% |
| Cornell | 22% | 51% | 6% |
| Penn | 18% | 48% | 4% |
| Dartmouth | 23% | 54% | 4% |
| Boston U | 29% | 46% | 17% |
| Emory | 29% | 56% | 11% |
Katie Anderson: Some more charts for you, some more numbers – just to reinforce this idea of the trend that we're really seeing.
This is just breaking down early decision acceptance versus regular decision acceptance. In this first column (ED admit rate) we're going to see how many students are admitted through early decision. The middle column is the percent of the incoming freshman class that's filled through early decision. And then, in the final column, you're seeing the regular decision admit rate.
Just to call out a few numbers:
At Brown, the early decision admit rate is 18%, compared to a 4% regular decision admit rate – so pretty high increase there! And we're seeing about 51% of the incoming class being filled by the early decision.
University of Pennsylvania has similar numbers: 18% ED admit rate, 4% regular decision rates. We're seeing pretty close to 50% (of the incoming freshman class admitted through ED) as well: 48% of the incoming class is admitted through ED.
When we look at a school like Boston University, we're seeing a pretty high ED admit rate of about 29%, compared to 17% for regular decision – and that's filling about 46% of the incoming freshman class.
It’s really helpful to go through some of these stats, and start to compare between ED and RD – and weighing that when you're thinking about the possibility of applying through early decision.
Anna Lu: Just to clarify: the numbers are regarding which incoming class?
Katie Anderson: That will be the incoming freshman class.
Anna Lu: For this year: the coming year?
Katie Anderson: Yes.
Anna Lu: All right, thank you.
Katie Anderson: Yeah, of course.
Who should apply ED?
Students who…
Are done with standardized testing!
Are in a financial position to use the ED option
Have a first choice college (no regrets)
Are at or above the 75th percentile for admits to the university
The early pool is the most competitive pool; students with less competitive profiles will likely not benefit from ED
Are able to abide by the ED Agreement
Katie Anderson: All right – who should apply through the early decision pathway?
That's usually a really big question. It's a question that a lot of students that we work with are often asking – and those conversations that we're having. So here are a few ways to think about it – if you're asking yourself about the possibilities:
One recommendation would be students who are completely done with their standardized testing at that point. You want to make sure you have your final SAT or ACT score – and your highest score, that you feel really confident about. That way you can submit everything that you need. (Again, you're applying earlier – so you want to have everything ready to go and be fully submitted.)
The second one (and this is really important, and something that I really want to reinforce) is being in a financial position to use the early decision option. Often students (and parents) get really excited: they see the acceptance percentage increasing with early decision, so they think, “Let's go for it! This is what we're gonna do!” And then they come to find out that what comes with that is also the financial commitment to that particular university. Again, if you do get accepted (which is excellent!) you do then have that binding agreement: which means you're going to be committing to that financial cost of that university. So that's also really important to think about when you're having those conversations.
It's also really important to have this be your first choice college. We literally mean that. We don't want you to have any regrets with this choice. Again, students get really excited when they see the numbers, and they decide to move forward with it… and then they see their peers or their friends getting accepted to other colleges or applying to other schools, and they feel like they missed out. So we really want to make sure that you feel very confident in this first choice school that you're applying early decision with – and that would be a conversation that we would definitely want to have with you.
The next one would be if you are at or above the 75th percentile for admits to the university! It's important to recognize that while, yes, we do see an increase in ED acceptance rates, it's often the most competitive pool. That early pool is always going to be the most competitive. So students who do have a slightly less competitive profile are likely not going to benefit from early decision.
Again, just asking yourself some of these questions and thinking if this applies to you – and if you are able to abide by the early decision agreement, which I will go over next.
ED Agreement
Students, parents, and HS counselors sign
Student is ethically obligated to attend if accepted
In rare cases (<1% at Duke), students may be exempted due to financial considerations or family circumstances
Students must withdraw pending applications from other institutions and may not apply to additional colleges
“If it is discovered that a student applied early decision to two different colleges – breaking the agreement – a student risks losing both acceptances.” - US News
Katie Anderson: The “early decision agreement” is something that's a little bit overlooked by students and parents. Just a few things to highlight here:
For the early decision agreement, students, parents, and high school counselors all sign this agreement.
The student is ethically obligated to attend that university if they are accepted. So you are officially signing this document and agreeing. It is a binding contract.
In some very very rare cases – less than one percent, for example, at Duke – students may be exempted due to financial considerations or family circumstances. But don't rely on that: thinking you can just get out of the agreement or change your mind! Again, you really don't want to have any regrets – and you want to feel confident with your decision.
At that point of acceptance, too, students must withdraw their pending applications to other institutions – and you cannot apply to any other colleges, for regular decision or anything else.
That's also where regret may sink in. We don't want that to happen. At that point you just want to feel really good. You withdraw. You have your acceptance, and you're able to move forward with that university. This is really important – and something you should definitely be thinking about if you're really considering going through with an early decision application.
What if ED is not for me?
Single Choice Early Action/Restrictive Early Action (SCEA/REA)
Restricts students from applying ED or EA at other colleges
May provide advantage in admissions
Harvard, Yale, Princeton (~13% SCEA Acceptance Rate)
Early Action (EA)
No demonstrable advantage in admissions
Option at most colleges
Priority or Scholarship Deadline
Students must apply by this deadline for particular majors/merit scholarships
BU (Scholarship)
Texas A+M (Engineering)
USC (Arts)
Katie Anderson: You could be: “Well, this sounds really great. I'm considering it… but what if I'm not sure? I don't know if this is the right path for me. I want to make the right decision.”
There are a few other ways to still apply early for college – I'm just going to go over them briefly here. [One] is the “single choice early action,” or the “restrictive early action” – for students and parents to be aware of. This is similar to early decision, but it doesn't have the binding contract agreement the way early decision does. It does have some restrictions that come with it: it does restrict students from applying early decision or early action at other colleges. You're still kind of limited. But you don't have that binding agreement.
We have seen over the years that it does sometimes provide an advantage in admissions. For example, at schools like Harvard, Yale, and Princeton (which have this option) we're seeing about a 13% acceptance rate through single choice early action/restrictive early action.
The second one is just the normal “early action” application. We haven't seen too much advantage in the admissions space by just applying through this particular option. It is an option at a lot of colleges – so for students who are really ready to move forward, submit their applications, and be on the early timeline, this is a great option for them. And it's often one that we encourage students to take advantage of. But we're not seeing the same increase in acceptances that we are with early decision or single choice early action.
One final one is priority or scholarship deadlines. Sometimes there will be colleges that will have you submit sooner – for particular majors, or merit scholarships.
For example:
Boston University has their early scholarship.
Texas A&M for engineering.
USC for arts.
So these may also be some earlier deadlines that you'll want to be paying attention to – even if it's not “early decision.”
How do you choose your early decision college
Where will you be the unique applicant?
Use Naviance!
Where are the odds in your favor?
Use common data sets or other resources (difference in ED vs. RD acceptance rate and % of class filled by ED)
MOST IMPORTANT:
Would you choose this college over any other?
Katie Anderson: It’s a big decision! I hope I've made that point very clear.
Use all of the resources that are available to you: where will you (as a student) be a unique applicant? One example is to use the tool Naviance (if your high school offers it) – or a similar college data search tool, if your high school has one. This just allows you to compare yourself to students at your high school – which I think is really important. It gives you an idea of where you might stand out for certain universities for the early decision option.
And at the same time asking yourself – and reading into some of the data and statistics – where the odds are more in your favor. Using common data sets, or other resources – like those charts that have been showing you the difference in the ED versus RD acceptance rate, how much of the percentage of the incoming freshman class was filled by early decision… We can't always take it fully at face value, but it can be really helpful as a starting point just to give you an idea.
The final thing – the most important – is: would you choose this college over any other college option that you have? I think that's really important: a little bit of self-reflection, and asking yourself, if this is the school for you, ultimately.
So those are just a few things to consider when you're kind of thinking about choosing your early decision college – if that's the path you decide to take.
Case study: Northeastern
Northeastern 2022 Admissions Statistics:
17.5% RD acceptance rate, 51.2% ED acceptance rate
ED = 22% of Admitted Class
Student A
GPA 3.4, no SAT score
Applied to Northeastern on nonbinding Early Action
Rejected everywhere early including ED choice; deferred at Northeastern
Called Northeastern to switch into ED II program; admitted one week later
Student B
GPA 4.0, 1550
Applied to top 20 colleges on regular decision plan
Accepted to Duke, rejected by Northeastern
Katie Anderson: I want to do a quick little case study here, just to put this all into perspective. This is actually a really interesting case that we had this past admission cycle.
The school is Northeastern. Here are the admissions stats for Northeastern: a 17.5% regular decision acceptance rate, compared to a 51.2% early decision acceptance rate. When we look at the early decision percentage of the admitted class, we're about 22%. That sets the stage of what the typical statistics are.
We have two students here. Student A has about a 3.4 GPA. They did not submit a test score for their SAT.
They applied to Northeastern on a non-binding early action plan.
They were rejected everywhere else – including their early decision choice – and they were deferred at Northeastern.
So they ended up reaching out to Northeastern to switch into their ED II program.
And they found out that they were admitted about a week later.
Which is really exciting! It just goes to show that even switching to ED II bumped up their acceptance rate.
We'll see that comparison here with student B. Higher GPA (4.0), 1550 SAT score, really strong stats. Applied to all of their top 20 colleges on strictly the regular decision plan. They were accepted to Duke, but they were rejected by Northeastern.
It's a really interesting comparison here. Student B was on the regular decision plan, student A switched to the ED II plan, and we're seeing that difference in their ultimate acceptance.
Hopefully that gives you a real life example of a student that we have this past admission cycle.
How can ILUMIN help you?
9th/10th Graders:
Help students learn about themselves and their college options
Plan college visits to build preferences and motivation
11th/12th Graders:
Build a personalized college list based on the student’s profile (academics, extracurriculars, tests, major, context)
Use research and data to identify unique opportunities and advantages, make wise and informed decisions
Provide structure and guidance for strong applications, essays
Guide students to demonstrate interest
Katie Anderson: How, then, can ILUMIN help in this process?
For our younger students who are maybe just starting out their high school career – 9th and 10th graders – we can really help you start a little bit earlier with figuring out your potential major interests, college options, college preferences, and start planning some of those college visits sooner: to start building your preferences, but also your motivation; if you have a school that you end up falling in love with, you're really excited about, you really want to make your path to that particular school – and end up applying with their early decision plan – we can start that process a little bit sooner (if you're a 9th or 10th grader).
For our 11th and 12th graders, what we'll help you do at this stage is build a personalized college list based on your particular profile: looking at your academics, your extracurriculars, your test scores, your major interests… We’ll help you build a full list of what makes sense. We'll use the research, the data, and our case studies of our previous students to help identify unique opportunities and advantages – and help you make wise and informed decisions when it comes to early decision possibilities.
We'll also (of course) provide structure and guidance for your applications and your essays, guide you through the process of how to best demonstrate interest – and eventually make those bigger decisions when you are approaching your senior year.
That's just a little overview of how we can help you at this stage – especially when it comes to weighing all of the different early application options that are out there for students.
Trend 2: major selection matters
Katie Anderson: All right, so we got through trend one! We're going to move on now to our second trend, which is also going to be probably just as equally important – and it's major selection. So this one's going to be a good one; pay attention! I think there's going to be a lot of really great information in here for you.
| Bachelor’s degrees conferred in the U.S. (2021) | |
|---|---|
| Agriculture and natural resources | 41,925 |
| Architecture and related services | 9,296 |
| Area, ethnic, cultural studies | 7,374 |
| Biological and biomedical sciences | 131,499 |
| Business | 391,375 |
| Communication, journalism | 90,775 |
| Computer and information sciences | 104,874 |
| Education | 89,398 |
| Engineering | 126,037 |
| English language and literature | 35,762 |
| Family, consumer, human sciences | 22,319 |
| Foreign languages | 15,518 |
| Health professions | 268,018 |
| Homeland security, law enforcement | 58,009 |
| Legal professions and studies | 4,589 |
| Mathematics and statistics | 27,092 |
| Parks/rec, leisure, fitness, kinesiology | 54,294 |
| Philosophy and religious studies | 11,988 |
| Physical sciences | 29,238 |
| Psychology | 126,944 |
| Public administration/social services | 34,817 |
| Social sciences and history | 160,827 |
| Theology and religious vocations | 6,737 |
| Visual and performing arts | 90,022 |
Katie Anderson: To start off, we're going to just set the stage here: take a look at some of the bachelor's degrees that were obtained in 2021.
You'll see, highlighted, the most popular bachelor's degrees: things in the biological and biomedical sciences, business, computer and information science, engineering, the health professions, psychology, and the social sciences and history. I think this is just important to be aware of. I'm sure it's not too surprising – but it's good to see the numbers a little bit as we start off here.
Top 10 Majors
Top 10 Majors by Base Salary (Glass Door)
Computer science
Electrical engineering
Mechanical engineering
Chemical engineering
Industrial engineering
Information technology
Civil engineering
Statistics
Nursing
Management Information Systems
Top 10 “In Demand” Majors (Indeed)
Nursing
Computer science
Business
Accounting
Physical therapy
Math and statistics
Information science
Finance
Psychology
Marketing
Katie Anderson: Just to provide a little bit more on this: we're seeing the top 10 majors by base salary, and the top 10 “in-demand” majors. A lot of crossover here: all of the engineering degrees, of course, are going to be at the top of the list here. On the left (below engineering) we're seeing statistics, nursing, management information.
Same thing with the most “in-demand” majors: business, accounting, computer science, psychology, finance, marketing…
So we're seeing a lot of trends with the same types of degrees – similar types of jobs, professions, pathways… That's also feeding into (of course) the college admissions process: when students are all applying with these similar types of majors.
The 10 most popular majors: UC Davis
These 10 majors capture 50% of students!
Katie Anderson: Here’s another one – more specific for college – that I think is really interesting: these are the 10 most popular majors at UC Davis. What you'll see when you look at them individually: psychology is 8% of the student population at UC Davis. We're seeing economics as about 5%. Political science is 3%.
Those numbers seem reasonable – it's like, “Okay, that's fine…” – but when we add up just these 10 Majors, we're seeing that that captures essentially 50% of the student body at UC Davis. And that's 10 majors; UC Davis has 80+ majors!
I think that's really important when you're looking at one of these major options and thinking, “Well, it seems like I have a good chance…” You have to remember how many major options there are at a university. This is one example – but we're seeing a similar trend when we look at a lot of different schools: these tend to be some of the most popular and most in-demand majors there.
Case study: University of Washington
Katie Anderson: Another interesting case study here – and some trends that we've been seeing – this is the University of Washington. When we look at the top chart here, we're seeing the three-year average admit rate by residency. For Washington residents we're seeing about a 60% admit rate – that's pretty high. U.S. residents: 51%. International: 44%.
If I'm looking at this statistic only, I think, “Okay, I have a good chance of acceptance!”
But then when we look at the second chart, we break that down by the admission for computer science or computer engineering as their first choice major. For Washington residents, there were [about 2,000] applications for that. 454 were accepted. So we're seeing about a 22% acceptance rate for Washington residents.
When we go into “domestic non-residents,” we're seeing over 4,000 applicants for computer science or computer engineering. 110 accepted: 3% acceptance rate. And even lower for our International students – we're seeing about a 2% acceptance rate for computer science.
Those numbers are really important! You may see, “51%, I'm from California; that's a great opportunity – I want to apply there!” But the reality is, if you're applying for computer science, your acceptance rate just went down to 3%. Understand the difference between overall acceptance rate and major-specific acceptance rate when you're reviewing different statistics!
Case study: UC Santa Barbara
Overall acceptance rate: 26%
90 majors
~80,000 applicants (2023)
~10,000 (12.5%) applied to Computer Science
~8,000 of those 10,000 had 4.0 or higher UC GPA
~800 were accepted
Computer Science acceptance rate: 8%
Katie Anderson: Another example – also really interesting – is from UC Santa Barbara.
The overall acceptance rate of UCSB is 26%. It’s still pretty low, but seems attainable for certain students. But when we break this down for the computer science major (UCSB has over 90 majors in total): in 2023, we saw about 80,000 applicants for UCSB. 10,000 of those applicants – about 12% – applied to computer science. 8,000 of those 10,000 had a 4.0 or higher GPA. 800 were accepted.
So when we really look at the computer science acceptance rate, we're at about 8%. Again, the discrepancy is 26% versus 8% – because we're looking at overall acceptance versus major-specific acceptance. Just something to keep in mind as well – not to discourage anybody here; I'm just pointing out some of the top statistics that we're seeing.
Majoring isn’t the only way to a lucrative career!
Minors (add after you are admitted)
Undergraduate research (open for applications)
Internships/co-ops (pursue through college resources)
Certificate programs (undergraduate or graduate level)
Graduate school
Students from any major may apply to graduate programs
Pre-medical, pre-law students: neither major nor college matters
Katie Anderson: But majoring in a particular field that you have an interest in is not the only way to land the career you want, or get on the path that you want in the future beyond your undergraduate degree!
There's a few other ways to keep different options open:
One of the most common is to minor in something. Some students may decide, “I'm going to apply for this business major, but I may end up minoring in computer science – because it's an option: I get to have the best of both worlds, and still pursue a career that I'm interested in.”
Other students may pursue the undergraduate research path – which is often a possibility at certain universities that support undergraduate research. You can get your foot in the door that way.
You could take advantage of internship opportunities. Colleges are wonderful at providing opportunities for students to get internships – and be able to start working with companies… and get their foot in the door in that professional capacity.
There are certificate programs at both the undergraduate and the graduate level.
And then, of course, there's beyond undergrad – if you're looking to apply to law school or medical school, often it doesn't matter what your major was! I think that's also really important if you're thinking beyond just your undergraduate degree: there are a lot of possibilities and a lot of options.
So even if you're seeing that list and your major interests are all on that list – and you're getting a little worried – there are a lot of ways that you can still pursue that particular interest that you have.
Ideas for alternative majors
Computer Science: applied math, humanities major with CS minor, business analytics/information systems, cybersecurity, statistics
Biology: gerontology, biological anthropology, human/child development, nutrition/dietetics, public health, environmental science
Business: communications, public relations, economics, international relations/ global or area studies, political science
Electrical/Mechanical Engineering: civil, environmental, aerospace, materials, nuclear, industrial
Neuro/Cog/Psych: sociology, anthropology, human ecology, urban studies, American/ethnic studies, philosophy
Less competitive majors: foreign languages, English, history, religion, comparative literature, classics, geology, geography, gender studies
Katie Anderson: These are a few ideas – just to help when you're thinking about possible majors: some alternative options. We just pulled a few of the most common majors.
We'll start with computer science. Some students look into applied math, or they'll do a humanities major with maybe a CS minor – like I mentioned previously. Or they'll do business analytics or information systems, cyber security, even statistics (for example). There are a lot of ways to still stay in the realm of computer science – but it doesn't always have to be a computer science degree.
For biology, we're seeing similar options as well. One that seems to be a really strong option for students is biological anthropology: a little bit different (it's not always the first major that you think of) but definitely one that students can explore – where they can still get some biology experience. Human/child development is another option. Public health. Environmental science. There are other ways to explore the field – even if it's not a bio undergrad major.
And finally there's business. You can look at majors like communication, public relations, economics, international relations, even global or area studies, political science…
A lot of different possibilities to think about. If one of these three is your top interest, it'd be great to explore some other possibilities – or just learn about those majors, and see if they’re something that you are interested in.
A few more of the popular majors:
We have electrical and mechanical engineering. Sometimes students become interested in civil engineering or environmental engineering, aerospace, material science… There are other pathways to explore there.
For students interested in neuroscience or cognitive science or psychology, sometimes looking at majors like sociology or anthropology or urban studies… Even philosophy, for example, can be another option.
When we look at the less competitive majors overall, we're seeing things in the foreign languages, English, history, religion, classics, geology…
There are other majors to explore if one of these doesn't make sense for you, but the big picture here is that there are a lot of major options at most universities – so there are alternative paths if you're a little concerned about some of the more impacted and competitive majors out there.
Selecting alternative majors
Don’t choose at random – admissions officers can detect strategic major selections
Find a thread in your application to follow to the major
Volunteering with Sunrise Movement + working at farmers market = environmental sciences
Tutoring at-risk students + volunteering at food bank = sociology
Social justice advocacy + strong in sciences + loves art = urban design
Consider major + minor combinations
Major in philosophy + minor in computer science = artificial intelligence
Katie Anderson: Just a few key tips here when it comes to selecting alternative majors.
Sometimes students will think, “Okay, I'll just go and pick this random major, and that will solve all the problems here.” But that's not necessarily the case. Admissions officers – when they're reviewing your application – can often detect a little bit of strategic major selection… especially if it's super random: you have nothing related to it, and you're not really expressing too much interest in it. It doesn't always work out the way you would hope!
Our goal is to help find a thread in your application to follow. Just an example here: if you volunteer with the Sunrise Movement, but you also work at the farmers market, maybe we look at environmental science. Or if you are tutoring at-risk students, but also spending a lot of time volunteering at the local food bank, sociology could be an option. Making sure we do have those common threads is really important.
Finally, considering a major/minor combination. I've kind of said this a few times: but you could look at a major like philosophy but minor in computer science – and that kind of lands in the artificial intelligence space.
Again, a lot of different angles: a lot of different ways to get there… but being a little bit open-minded with major selection can be really helpful.
Case study: Cupertino
Student A: Computer Science
3.8 UW GPA, 1490 SAT, 11 APs
3 large leadership roles, 2 award winning science fair projects, 1 internship, 2 competitive research summer programs
Results
UCB, UCB, UCD, UCSD, UCSB, UCI, UCSC, UW, UM, BU
Attending: Purdue
Student B: Environmental Science
3.7 UW GPA, 1470 SAT, 7 APs
2 small leadership roles, no relevant awards, 1 internship, 1 research summer program
Results
UCB, UCLA, UCD, UCSD, UCSB, UCI, UCSC, UW, UM, BU
Attending: UC Berkeley
Katie Anderson: Just a quick case study here: looking at students who applied to different majors. Student A: computer science. Student B: environmental science.
On the computer science side, we're seeing strong stats: 3.8 GPA, 1490 SAT, a lot of APs, leadership roles, science fairs competitions… And when we look at their results we're seeing that they were rejected from UCSB, UC Davis, UCLA, waitlisted at all the other UCS – and they ultimately ended up attending Purdue University, but their results weren't what they were anticipating.
For student B, environmental science was their major that they selected. Roughly comparable stats: GPA of 3.7, 1470 SAT. Fewer APs. No significance awards. No significant leadership.
But what we're seeing in their results is that they were accepted to UC Berkeley, UC Irvine, UC Santa Cruz, University of Washington, Boston University… and ended up choosing UC Berkeley.
I think that's really important to note.
How ILUMIN can help you!
9th/10th Graders:
Help students explore their interests, investigate majors and careers
Build course schedules and recommend activities to create interdisciplinary, flexible major and career pathways
11th/12th Graders:
Identify majors that align with the student’s profile and goals
Assist students in selecting best-fit majors on a college by college basis
Provide guidance on essays to connect the student’s resume to the major and college
Katie Anderson: How can ILUMIN help when it comes to major selection?
9th and 10th graders: kind of similar to the first trend – helping students explore their interests, investigate majors and careers, building the right types of course schedules, recommending activities to get involved in to create some of those interdisciplinary and flexible major and career pathways a little bit earlier in your journey.
11th and 12th graders: we’ll help you identify majors that align with your current profile and your longer-term goals, assist you in selecting the best fit majors based on each college that you're looking at, and provide guidance on those essays to connect the student's resume to the major and to the college.
Trend 3: the influence of standardized tests on admissions is in flux
Katie Anderson: All right. moving to trend three here – and then I promise we’ll get to your questions; I’m sure you have a few. Final trend: we're looking at the influence of standardized tests, and how it is basically always going to be in flux. So we're seeing that as the common trend – which doesn't sound super helpful…l but I promise we'll have a few things to explain that.
Testing policies overview
Katie Anderson: When we look at the testing policies, it's so confusing! There have been so many different changes over the last few years. So I just want to talk through a few of the key ones.
Test blind
Colleges will not consider test scores to make admissions decisions
Scores may be used to fulfill missing A-G or other admissions requirements such as English proficiency
Test Blind Colleges:
UC and CSU (through Fall 2024)
University of San Diego (through Fall 2024)
Caltech (through Fall 2025)
Pitzer College (through Fall 2025)
Worcester Polytechnic Institute (forever)
Katie Anderson: The first is “test blind.” Colleges who are “test blind” do not consider any test scores to make admissions decisions. Sometimes they may be used to fulfill any missing A-G requirements, or other admissions requirements… but (for the most part) they're not going to be used or considered.
Just a few updates on test blind: UC and CSUs are test blind through fall of 2024. University of San Diego also through 2024. Pitzer College through 2025. We're seeing (for now) that there's still going to be an extension for this test blind option for these schools.
Test optional… for now
Colleges allow students to choose whether they want their test scores considered in the admissions process
Colleges clearly state there is no advantage or disadvantage to submitting test scores (e.g. if colleges admit more students who submit test scores, it is not intentional)
Check individual college policies (SuperScore vs. Single Best Sitting)
1800+ colleges are still test optional for the Class of 2024
FairTest.Org
Katie Anderson: There are other schools that are test optional – at least for now. Again, a lot can change.
But “test optional” basically means colleges allow students to choose whether they want their test scores considered in the admissions process. So there's a little bit of choice there for the students.
Colleges are pretty clear that there is no advantage or disadvantage to submitting your test scores – even if it seems as though they admit more students who submit their test scores, that's not always really the case. It's always important to check individual college policies: do they accept the superscore? Are they doing single best sitting?
And at this point we're seeing over 1800 colleges that are still test optional for the class of 2024 – which tends to be a big trend that we're seeing right now when it comes to standardized testing.
Test optional forever
Many colleges offered test-optional admissions before Covid, including:
University of Chicago
Wake Forest University
Wesleyan
Bowdoin
Smith
Colby
Katie Anderson: There are some schools that are test optional forever. There are schools that since even before COVID and the pandemic have had the test optional admissions process. University of Chicago, Wake Forest University, Smith, Colby…
So we're seeing that there have always been some schools that have had that test optional approach.
Test flexible
Some colleges had test optional or test flexible policies before COVID
Students may submit AP or IB scores instead of an SAT or ACT score
NYU is test optional & test flexible
Katie Anderson: There are also some schools that are “test flexible” – which is also when all of these words start to sound the same. But there's a little bit of a difference here.
Colleges have had “test optional” or “test flexible” before COVID. They'll allow students to submit their AP or IB scores instead of an SAT score. This chart here is from NYU – and how they're both “test optional” and “test flexible”. It just breaks down from when you can submit your SAT or your ACT score… and if you want to submit your AP exams, here are the criteria: you have to do one from humanities, one for math or science, and one from your choice.
This is really just to indicate that every college is a little different. Not every school is the same – there are different policies at different schools. So it's important to understand (for the schools that you are applying to) what their current policy is – especially for this upcoming admissions cycle.
Test required
“The evidence is clear that test scores provide essential information in a comprehensive admissions evaluation that enables us to ensure the optimal chance of success for each admitted student.” – Purdue
Students must submit test scores in order to be eligible for admission
Colleges found it difficult to make decisions without scores to distinguish between and compare applicants.
Colleges requiring tests:
Purdue
MIT
Georgetown
Georgia Tech (all Georgia public schools)
U Florida (all Florida public schools)
Katie Anderson: There are also “test required” schools. We're starting to see that come back – as well – for schools that did have “test optional” for a little bit, or “test blind.” Students in this case must submit their test scores in order to be eligible for admission.
The colleges that have gone back to “test required” found that it was difficult to make admissions decisions without those scores to distinguish between and compare similar applicants. At this point we're seeing colleges that are requiring the tests are schools like Purdue, MIT, Georgetown… and we're seeing it in pretty much all Georgia and all Florida public schools.
It’s just important, again: being aware of the schools you're applying to, and what their current policy is for testing.
How many students are reporting?
77% (2019-20) vs 43% (2022-23) submitted test scores
Boston College: 33% of accepted students did not submit scores.
UVA: 42% applied test-optional; 28% of those accepted did not submit scores.
Brown: 42% of those accepted did not submit scores.
Katie Anderson: This leads to how many students are actually reporting their scores – with all these different options, and being able to choose to send your scores versus not send your scores.
Here’s what we're seeing: for the 2019-2020 cycle, we saw like 77% of students were submitting their scores. For the most recent cycle, we're seeing about 43%. So we are seeing that decrease with the different options available…
We're still seeing that it's not making a huge impact on a student being accepted versus not accepted. For example, at Boston College, 33% of their accepted students did not submit test scores. UVA had 42% apply test optional; 28% of those accepted did not submit their scores. At Brown we're seeing about 42% of those accepted not submit scores.
So – just the takeaway here – it doesn't mean you have to submit your test scores. It doesn't necessarily lower your chances of acceptance. That's what the numbers are showing us in this particular case.
How do I decide whether to submit my test?
Things to consider:
Do I think my test score represents my academic ability?
Does my test score measure up to what other students from my high school are submitting? (Naviance)
Does my test score meet or exceed the average score at the college I’m applying to? (College Common Data Sets)
It is possible to choose on a college-by-college basis
Katie Anderson: Similar to early decision, you’re making a major decision – now the question is: “Do I submit my test score? Do I not? What makes sense?”
A few things to consider here:
Do you feel that your test score represents your academic ability? Does it align with your GPA, for example – that can be a really helpful tool to measure it.
Another way is if your test score measures up to what other students from your high school are submitting. As I mentioned at the early part of the presentation, using Naviance (if your school has it) can just help you see where you stand among other students at your school who have applied to that particular university.
Does your test score meet or exceed the average at that particular college (which I'll have here on the next slide)?
It is possible to choose on a college-by-college basis as well. The nice thing about it is: there is that flexibility, and you can decide what the right decision is for you.
But it can be a little confusing… and hard to make that decision sometimes.
Testing percentiles: UIUC
Katie Anderson: Just as an example when it comes to reviewing specific college’s average test scores: this is for UIUC – just as an example.
At their College of Business we're seeing 1360-1480 – and this is the middle 50%. Seeing where you fall in that range can be helpful. For the College of Engineering – again, that middle 50% – we're seeing about 1440-1540.
It's not always easy; it doesn't give you a 100% “yes” or “no” if you should submit your scores. But it can help you gauge where you stand.
Scattergram
Katie Anderson: This is basically a capture of Naviance (which I have mentioned a few times here): this is a scattergram for the University of Southern California (USC). It's hard to see, but there's a little blue person. And that's representing you – if you were the student that's looking it up. It just shows you where you stand among other students who have applied.
So, in this case, we're seeing that this particular student's pretty high up – which is good to see! It just gives you, “Okay, I'm kind of at the top of the range here – compared to other students who have applied from my high school.” This is another way to just use the resources and tools that you have: just to see where you stand, and help you make your final decision about submitting your test scores or not.
ILUMIN can help you!
Determine when is best to take the test
Help make a study plan/provide resources
E.g. reading list, goal setting, practice schedule, practice tests, tutor referrals
Determine a “goal” score based on your college list, major preference
Manage and plan around deadlines
Strategize on where to go “test optional”
Katie Anderson: How can, then, we at ILUMIN help you through this process? A few things we can help you with:
We can determine when is the best time to actually take the exam: help you plan out that timeline and road map.
We can help you with study plans – and providing you with resources for success: that could be a reading list, or goal setting practice, tests, schedules, tutor referrals… all of those things to help you be successful in your study plan.
We’ll help you make a “goal” based on your college list and your major preference. So if you've identified some schools that you're trying to target, we can work backwards and figure out the best plan to reach that range that would be the best for you to land in.
We’ll help with managing and planning those deadlines.
And – probably most important when it comes to actually working on the college application process – is where to go “test optional”; we’ll help you through that process: pros and cons, and talk you through all the options there.
Sources
https://www.ivycoach.com/the-ivy-coach-blog/college-admissions/admission-statistics-class-2027/
https://www.collegetransitions.com/blog/test-optional-admissions/
https://www.collegekickstart.com/blog/item/class-of-2023-early-decision-and-early-action-results
Katie Anderson: All right. This is our last slide: these are our sources, just so everyone's aware!
Questions?
Schedule a free consultation with ILUMIN Education!
Contact us at info@ilumineducation.com
Katie Anderson: I'm going to go to our questions – I'll turn it back over to Anna, now, if there are questions.
Anna Lu: There are many questions, thanks everyone.
I just want to address one quick question first: yes this webinar recording will be sent out to all the attendees, and it will be public on YouTube. So don't worry – if you missed anything, you can just go back, look at the video, pause, you're fine.
All right – so yeah, a lot of questions from everyone. We won't be able to tackle every single one, but we'll try to address as many as we can.
Some quick quotes about ED – just to clear up:
If you apply ED and get deferred, does the binding contract get carried over to regular decision?
Katie Anderson: No, it does not. If you move to deferral status (and to the regular deadline or decision pool) you're released from that ED agreement. You move into the regular category – and, again, you can apply for ED II at another college, if that makes sense for you.
Anna Lu: Can a student apply EA to colleges if they apply to a college ED?
I believe the answer to this is yes.
Katie Anderson: Yes, you can. It's once you get accepted through early decision that it's that binding contract. That's the point in which you need to withdraw any applications that you have submitted.
Anna Lu: Okay.
Some people also had questions about the relationship between early admissions and financial aid: definitely a question many families might be concerned about.
Does ED affect the financial aid that colleges offer? Do they give less money (or maybe even less merit scholarship opportunities)? How does that work?
Katie Anderson: It doesn't necessarily impact too much on the scholarship side – because often that's going to be based on the admissions that you're being offered when colleges are reviewing your overall profile. That's often when they're making any sort of scholarship – especially merit scholarship – decisions. So that's important to know.
I think the biggest thing – and this is something we've been talking about a lot with our families, especially our seniors now – is understanding the financial agreement: understanding what the cost of the university is (especially that early decision university) and being prepared for that.
Often it's hard to make those decisions – because you're unsure what that scholarship might look like, what financial aid could look like, and you're having to agree! So it is really important to be in a financial position (as a family) when you're considering ED. That's something to keep in mind as well – because if you're hoping or relying on potential scholarships, or merit scholarships, that can reach a point where it may be a difficult decision for families.
Anna Lu: For sure, for sure.
There are a lot of questions about how to find information such as statistics based on major-specific acceptance rate, or majors that are underrepresented at schools. Where would you direct students and families to go find that information?
Katie Anderson: A lot of the Common Data Set can be really helpful: just going through and looking at the regular decision versus early decision statistics. That will be a good one: you can get a sense of just an overview of particular schools.
Also, university websites (directly) do publish information. It's not always up-to-date each cycle; it does take a minute. But once they do, it can give you at least an idea. It can help you see some rough overview of acceptance rates – get an idea of what the Freshman makeup looks like for a class. If you look at a freshman profile of that particular university, that can also be really helpful – and give you some additional insight.
I do feel for students, though, who are looking at where they stand and where their best options are, using Naviance. I know I've said it a lot, but using Naviance is super helpful (if your school has it).
If your school doesn't have it, double check with your high school counselor or administration team. Often they do have a college research tool or educational tool that you just may not know about. Just confirm – because that is the best way to compare yourself to other students who are applying. (Colleges are looking at high school profiles, and where you stand within your individual high schools.) That's often the best place to start.
Anna Lu: Yes, high school context is really important.
This actually relates to another question we had: about if their high school (for example) doesn't do finals, allows test retakes… how does that affect how colleges view your GPA?
They usually view it within the context of your school – so don't worry as much about being compared to schools that don't have that kind of situation.
They're very context-evaluative.
Katie Anderson: Exactly.
Anna Lu: A question about test optional: for schools that are “test blind,” or if a student doesn't submit their test scores, does the college then put more emphasis on other aspects, like extracurriculars or GPA? How does that play into “holistic admissions”?
Katie Anderson: It's very similar to if you have a school that does look at test scores, when you have the “holistic admissions” process. They're looking at everything – and taking it one section at a time. And so with test blind schools; you're just removing the standardized test review. It doesn't change anything else about the admissions process.
So they're still reviewing your grades and your transcript, obviously. They're reviewing the courses that you took. They're reviewing your essays: how it relates to what you're interested in, your activities that you've done… Those are all going to be really important.
It just takes away that one other piece that they would normally be looking at. I don't think it has a huge impact if you're applying to a test blind school.
It probably is going to be more of a decision if you submit your scores to a “test optional” school. That's where it could sway, it could not sway. That's a bigger decision than at any of the “test blind” universities.
Anna Lu: Yeah, for sure.
There are some questions about just a marginal difference in test scores: how, say, a perfect SAT or ACT score is compared to maybe a few points off.
Again, that's also very context-dependent. Is it reflective of your GPA? Is it reflective of how you've been doing in school? It’s all dependent on your own individual situation.
Katie Anderson: Exactly, yeah.
Anna Lu: Let's see: there are a lot of questions here. I’m trying to filter through all of these.
A question about applying as an “undeclared” major. Is this a strategy? Is it not? How does that affect your [admission] chances?
Katie Anderson: That's a great question.
It's a little subjective, obviously. There are a lot of other factors there I would want to personally look at when it comes to reviewing a student profile. I was working with a student who's thinking about being undeclared. I think it really depends.
It goes back to what I was talking about with the alternative majors: if you pick an alternative major at random, that doesn't make a lot of sense: it doesn't tie in with what your activities reflect, or the interests that you have. “Undeclared” can go into that category. It could almost be a little too random, or, “Is this just a strategy because you don't want to apply to a more impacted major?”
When students don't have too many activities – and they're kind of different, they don't really align, and they don't have any sort of common thread – that's often when I'll consider “undeclared”… and I would maybe recommend that as a potential option.
It also depends on the colleges too: thinking about the acceptance rate of different majors. There could be some majors to look at that would increase your chances – and you might be interested in – versus going for a school that has really low acceptance rates across the board, so “undeclared” might make the most sense.
I do think that's a little case-by-case when it comes to “undeclared”.
Anna Lu: For sure.
Another question about test scores. (A lot of questions about test scores.)
Katie Anderson: Of course.
Anna Lu: If you do not submit your score, does that mean the colleges automatically assume you must have gotten a lower score?
Katie Anderson: Not necessarily.
As we saw in the previous slides, there was still a pretty high acceptance rate for the students who did not submit their test scores. It is not making that big of a difference or impact. So that's not the automatic assumption that a university would have. It just means you chose not to submit it; they review other parts of your application and decide if you're a good fit.
We are seeing acceptance rates still be pretty high for students even if they choose not to submit their scores.
Anna Lu: I think it's really easy to see percentages like: “50% or 60% of people who got accepted submitted test scores!” But it's not good to think of test scores as a single isolated variable. Maybe those 60% of students who submitted a test score and got in – that's not the only reason. If they submit good test scores, that likely also means they had good grades, really good in extracurriculars, et cetera.
Maybe the 40% of students who didn't submit test scores also had really strong GPAs – and that's why they got in. It's really important not to just isolate that variable.
A question about how the SAT is changing, and how that might change “test optional.” Is that going to affect how schools consider and look at test scores for 2024-2025 applicants?
Katie Anderson: The SAT loves to make changes, and we're going to be experiencing that change here shortly as well. We don't know yet – because we haven't had the new version of the digital SAT yet. We haven't seen what that's changed with students’ scores – and any sort of test planning, anything like that. So it's hard to predict what will happen in the future.
But we do know, obviously, schools that have already committed to test blind or test optional through 2024-2025. So we have to go off what we know now – but we also know that that may change. They could continue with that; they could go back to test optional or test required. So we may see some changes in the near future.
That's where – if you're working with us at ILUMIN – we can navigate those changes with you and help you plan the best strategy. But for now it's hard to say. We will rely on what we know – in terms of where they've committed, in terms of their testing policies that they've put out there.
Anna Lu: For sure.
All right – a question about the relationship between declared majors and careers. Oh, this is a little tricky. Does the school take into account an applicant's intended career – and how does that affect how it plays into their major, their [admission] chances, etc.?
Katie Anderson: So they don't necessarily take that fully into account.
Obviously a lot of students may not always know what they're going to do for their future career; even if they have an idea, it may not always be set in stone: it could change. So I don't like to associate them [major and career] too closely – and I don't think universities are looking at that either.
I think what often can help with major selection – especially if you are moving forward with a more impacted major – it's making sure (of course) it aligns with the activities that you've done, and in any of the courses that relate, that you've done and performed well in those, and also your essays – if there is something you feel you could indicate: “This is the path I'm planning for; this is why I'm interested in this field; this is what I'm trying to achieve; these are my longer term goals.”
There are ways that you can highlight that, but it wouldn't necessarily be directly tied to an admissions review of, “Well, they might do this in the future, so we're going to take that into account.” Because no one really fully knows what will happen at that point.
Anna Lu: Especially because a lot of students tend to change their majors or career paths in the middle of college – maybe even the last year.
Katie Anderson: Absolutely.
Anna Lu: All right, we're out of time… so thank you so much for coming, everybody. We didn't get to answer all your questions, unfortunately – but if you do have questions, a lot of these are very individual, context-dependent, so it would be great if you scheduled a free consultation with us. We can definitely help your student and your family, understand your specific situation, and make a good plan moving forward – especially in light of these recent trends in admissions.
Any last words, Katie?
Katie Anderson: I think we covered it. There's a lot: definitely watch it again, take it all in, make sure you review some of those charts… There's a lot of information; we had to go quickly… so I appreciate you understanding that, and look forward to meeting with any of you if you do schedule a free consultation.
Thanks so much for joining us.
Anna Lu: Thank you, Katie. Thank you, everyone, for coming. We hope to see you soon.