How selective are selective private colleges? |
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| Authors: | Gary M Lewis |
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| Institution: | (1) Undergraduate Admissions, Bentley College, Beaver & Forest Sts., 02254 Waltham, MA |
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| Abstract: | Comparing the admissions selectivity of colleges on the basis of accept rates can be misleading because the quality of the applicant pool is ignored. However, many rate comparisons can be improved using the demographic technique of direct standardization. In this study, SAT-specific accept rates for about 200 private four-year colleges and universities in the United States were estimated and used to compute adjusted (standardized) accept rates. College-bound high school seniors who took the SAT verbal and mathematics examinations in 1986 formed the standard populations. Standard errors for the differences in adjusted accept rates between colleges were computed so that selectivity groupings of colleges could be constructed. Results showed that selectivity rankings changed substantially depending on whether crude or adjusted accept rates were used. Adjusted rates reduced the problems of comparing admissions selectivity among colleges whose applicant quality varied significantly. |
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