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As a graduate of UC Berkeley and U. Illinois Urbana-Champaign, I can attest to the fact that you can get a great education from schools with higher acceptance rates. Moreover, graduates from the current decade are far and away ahead of graduates from previous decades due to increasing exposure to technology tools that the earlier generations can only dream of and generally would not have the patience to go back and learn on their own.

I got a question. If I get accepted to the university that i want to go. Do I need to necessarily be in a dorm room or can I live somewhere else close to the university?

A lot of the time acceptance rate is more a reflection of how famous a school is rather than its quality. For instance, I go to a small liberal arts school that’s ranked alongside a lot of more famous schools in New England (i.e. Colby, Bowdoin, Hamilton) but it has an acceptance rate in the 25-30% range because it’s simply less famous. I’d recommend that kids who are currently in high school consider schools that they may have never heard of before because there are a lot of hidden gems that get written off for insignificant reasons.

university of wisconsin? he was involved in recuritment...hehe.

5:44 ??? it absolutely does have a pretty strong correlation? the more people that apply for spots at a school that has limited seats in general signal that the school is probably high quality. which restaurant is better: the empty one with bad google reviews, trying to offer coupons and discounts to get people in the door, or the one where you have to work to get a reservation and everyone who goes there raves about the food?

I’m applying as a transfer. The application for Madison opens tomorrow and I’m super nervous! Do you have any advice? I have to write two essays!

Hey! Would it be possible to work with you?

Well, after you explained that it is calculated by the number of accepted students by the total number of applicants this should have been all the hopefuls of these schools needed. Based on general available data there are roughly 1700 seats for freshman at an Ivy League school and there are 55000 applicants. 1700/55000 is approximately 3%. Now we have some school like Midwestern school A with nearly 8000 seats for freshmen and only 64000 applicants that gives you 12%. The thing is that many more people are accepted but do not end up going to that school as it is their backup or their backups backup. If the number of seats go up and applicants go down or remain stable then you get a higher percentage of acceptance - none of this is rocket science. Ivy League schools have less seats and high applicant rates...that means low % of acceptance. I also forgot that the actual number of seats is less than that if you include legacy admissions. I really do not think your undergrad matters as much as your Master's or PhD does at these elite schools - those are more career focused and will get you farther.

I’m not a lawyer, but you should probably take off your old work shirt while making videos. You will eventually get a cease and desist from Wisconsin, and it is misleading. Don’t say I didn’t warn you bro. Awesome video though. Thanks.

Texas is wildly overrated. In no way are they anywhere near Ivy League level. Just a good public school that is no better than many of the better public universities. In fact, the whole clickbait title "New Ivies" is complete BS. This list should more accurately be called "A Few Decent Public Colleges".

you got the formula backwards. its the number of admits out of the number of applicants

Hey Jackson! Loved the video as it was super helpful. I had a question regarding waiver fee’s. As you know, kids often use it to combat financial hardship. However, it is also allowed to request a waiver fee based on the premise that you are applying to a ton of colleges and that in and of itself is a financial burden. 1.) Is this ethical? 2.) colleges state this doesn’t impact their admissions process, and as a upper middle class family, would it show a contradiction that I request a fee waiver, yet do not meet the needs of certain financial aid benefits? 3.) how do you find what colleges seriously don’t consider the waiver option in their decision?

thanks!

What is that lovely microphone? ill use your link if you have one!

Thank you for the great video! very helpful esp since im in the process of applying to PhD programs

Love your haircut.

The Forbes list put Binghamton over the University of Washington? Top five most research in the WORLD University of Washington? Not a single west-coast school? Not sure I agree with this list, Forbes 😅

This is interesting, thanks for sharing your experience! I wonder how much international students affect the admissions rate. I went to undergrad at NYU, which has a high number of international students, especially from the "new rich" of Asian countries such as Indian, China, and South Korea. Ivy league schools are also very popular with these applicants. I'd imagine these students have a lower acceptance rate compared to domestic applicants, especially if they don't have the means to actually attend these expensive universities.

Bruh my sister has fee waivers for every school I’m telling her to apply to like all top 30schools at least lol.

RMH has a section where you can look at the overall ratings of a school and see how people view it. Since it’s students rating it and not some organization it can give you a better feel for how it will actually feel being there. I encourage you to read the reviews to see what things that school does well vs poorly

Not mentioned here is how the Common App, especially when all applications became online, has created a glut of applicants that drives up the number of schools students apply to since it’s just a click of a button. It’s ridiculous that students are applying to over 20 schools. This is what’s creating lower acceptance rates artificially.

Hey, I strongly aspire to go to UW and I’m really nervous about what I have to do to get in. I was wondering what GPA you think people should have to have a good chance. Thanks.

Hey you made a mistake at second 25 you said that acceptance rate is the number Applicants divide by the number of admits when it’s the inverse I’m sure you know this but just wanted to clarify.

man hang up his shoes on the door😱😱😱

This is helpful but I wish you took out the bg music. It’s too loud and it hinders my focus.

Like I know there are university's out there with great reputations because of their research work. But a researcher isn't necessarily a good teacher. I've had some fantastic teachers at community college and state university. So no regrets.

How do you only have 500 subs the heck

I got accepted into - and graduated from - Stanford. I applied without regard for the likelihood of my being admitted.

Heyy, the first essay is mine, im only now watching the vid but i ended up following your advice anyways. Thanks sm for the feedback xx

Ok but ur clearly just biassed and didnt do your research. For instance, the part about UT austin being more diverse is conpletely wrong. Just look at their OOS acceptance rate, they have a huge instate student percentage, so your “diverse school” is really just all texas students.

Anyone else trying to figure out what to write for the 800 word supplemental?

I find the whole “new ivies, public ivies” discussion incredibly cringeworthy. The Ivy League is the name of an athletic consortium of schools, no different than say, the Big 10 or the ACC. So saying that a school is a new Ivy, is like saying a school is part of the “new” Big 10 or part of the “new” ACC. It literally makes zero sense. Also, a price tag for an Ivy League undergraduate degree is a moot point anymore. For example, if you are an undergrad at Princeton, and your family makes less than 100k a year, your entire undergraduate education is free. And pretty much every Ivy is equally as generous. The only students who pay the sticker tag for these educations are incredibly wealthy kids. Most Ivy League undergraduate educations are actually now cheaper than state school educations.

what are the odds you do another essay reading ? I'd love to send mine

This is not really the point of your video, but I think some of the mechanics that you point out here in this video also create a distortion in the apparent acceptance rates for Early Decision and Regular Decision. I suspect that any given student does have a better chance of getting in via Early Decision if they really want to go to that school. However, there is potentially a lot that they give up by doing so, and I don't think their odds are doubled or tripled as the percentages seem to imply. If a student really wants to go to a specific school, then early decision may be the way to do it. But I don't think the difference in odds is nearly as big as the statistics imply. There are several reasons why. 1. Applicant Pool Quality in ED: The ED pool often consists of students who are more organized, prepared, and committed to specific schools. These students typically have stronger applications, tailored essays, and a clearer sense of fit with the institution, leading to higher acceptance rates. This skews the data, making ED appear more favorable statistically, even if these same students would have had solid chances in RD. 2. Reduced Competition in Regular Decision (RD): Many top candidates are accepted during ED, removing them from the RD pool. This changes the overall competitiveness of RD applicants, as many of the best-prepared candidates have already committed. While this might suggest higher RD acceptance rates for remaining top students, you can't see it because the RD applicant pool is so much larger. 3. “Lottery Ticket” Effect Encouraged by the Common App: With the Common App and generous financial aid policies, students w/ HHI under $100k (especially at schools using the CSS Profile) have a strong incentive to apply to multiple top schools even with less competitive academic profiles. Fee waivers and test-optional policies increase the number of applicants who have strong GPAs but might have lower standardized test scores, thus broadening the applicant pool and making acceptance rates appear lower due to a larger denominator. The math here is pretty simple. Go ahead and put an application out there, and if you get accepted (even if your odds are low) you get an education worth $300K for very little money. It is literally life-changing so there is a big incentive there to do this. 4. Vicious Cycle of Low Acceptance Rates: Low acceptance rates make even really good applicants feel insecure about their chances at top schools, causing them to apply to more schools (which of course just increases the number of applications). This forces schools into the calculus that you identify here, which is potentially rejecting good students because they are overqualified (not underqualified) in order to preserve yield rate. Additionally, when very well-qualified students are putting together their applications, they probably aren't doing so with as much care or intention as they would in Early Decision, making their applications a lot less compelling. The schools are doing a sort of informal read on declared interest by just seeing how well someone fills out the application. Because top students are applying to 10-15 schools instead of one, their average application is significantly less compelling than it would be if they had simply focused on a few schools. Top students who are already busting their humps end up facing a lot of stress trying to do early decision, and I'm just not sure it's the best decision for many. I have not seen a breakdown of this specific phenomenon before, but your video I just addressed a few of the issues that are driving it, so I thought I would lay this out here.

so much to this. I recommend the books "where you go is not who you'll be" and "looking beyond the ivy league" to nervous students or parents

Parents and students tend to overlook high acceptance rates/high graduation rates public schools, for example, a school like Ohio University.

If you're just starting out college, do not pass up community college, especially for your basic credits. There are likely still many good professors and other students to engage with and you'll save yourself money and student debt. I've heard from many people, including those in their late 30s, that are still tied to their student debt. Being smart is not having yale next to your name on your diploma. Being smart is considering the long-term and your own personal values and interests.

Greetings from Ethiopia.

Watching from Central Asia. Are you planning to do something similar again? Reworked my essay by following your advices from the previous videos! Aside from that, would love if you could answer these questions: How do admissions committees view international applicants' academic records, especially if grading systems differ? How detailed should I be when discussing specific courses, professors, or research opportunities in the "Why this Major" essay? If I took a gap year to work in the field i'm applying to(CS for me), how can I demonstrate that these experiences were valuable for my long-term goals?

This advice is so helpful. Are you going to make another one like this soon? I want to submit my essay now

Thank you, Jackson. Loved your advice. Love from Greece.

Thanks a lot!!!

thanks king!

I go to a school with about a 50% acceptance rate that gives out big scholarships for more academically inclined students to attend. It certainly is not ranked very highly, only about #150 in the US out of something like 400 universities. I turned down NYU to go here simply because of the cost. Most people commute and the quality of the classes are rather low. Despite all this, I have seen people score very good jobs coming out of this school and fancy internships (mostly large financial institutions, 3 letter agencies etc.) By no means would I consider this a fantastic school for the program I am pursuing, but what these people have shown me is that ultimately the success a student can obtain lies in their engagement with the school. You can either treat it like a job or the start of your career.

If waitlisted student don't count as accepted, why would someone rejecting a school's acceptance letter raise acceptance rates?

Columbia has a School of General Studies for "non-traditional" students. These students could be those that went to the military for several years or took several years off travelling around the world or decided to go to college after changing career paths. The standards for acceptance are much lower for this school than for either of their two "traditional" colleges--Columbia College and School of Engineering, so Columbia wanted to exclude the numbers from General Studies. They were kind of already being allowed to do it by treating Barnard College as a separate institution in the rankings, even though it's also technically part of the university as well. Cornell is another one where there's some weird situation going on, as it's partly both a private and public school, depending on which college within the university you apply to. I'm not sure if they were also excluding the acceptance rates of the public schools from their overall numbers.

Anybody who looks at acceptance rates as an indicator of quality or prestige is too st#pid to go to college. Colleges encourage everybody to apply (even those who have zero chance of getting in) so that the number of applicants goes up, which drives down the acceptance rate. The number is meaningless. This is basic arithmetic.

There are over 30,000 valedictorians every year in the US alone…

Texas offers automatic admission for Texas residents who are in the Top6% of their graduating class. Starting in the near future, 2026 I think, that goes up (only down) to the Top5% of your class. After that, it gets even more difficult to get into UT-Austin… Texas A&M is very good as well and a little bit (but not much) easier to get into, & recent reports indicate that no other college has more Fortune 500 company leadership positions than Texas A&M…