Why It’ll Likely Be Easier Getting Into College, Even The Ivy League, This Coming Admissions Cycle
- While it is bad news “that things are likely to get worse for smaller schools already struggling to stay afloat” because “the 2008 global recession” led “young couples [to postpone] pregnancy in the face of economic uncertainty,” for those of YOU applying for Admission, “The good news is that with fewer students applying to university, acceptance rates are likely to rise.”
- Don’t forget that colleges and universities are vying for YOUR attention too because they “are contending with the need for change.” What kind of change? It’s called an ‘enrollment cliff,’ which means that “the unemployment rate for workers aged 16 to 19 dropped last year to a 70-year low of 9.2% which has led to larger increases in pay,” and a decrease in interest in college attendance because “the demand for blue-collar workers is likely to continue due to the aging workforce,” while “technology increasingly dismantles white-collar professions,” according to Esaki-Smith.
- Again What kind of change? Esaki-Smith states: “colleges may be forced to create more attractive options for students that are both cheaper and more career-focused.”
- So, what’s your angle as a result? You should also think about applying to the “most vulnerable…the small, private colleges.”
- “While it will still be hard to get into high-ranked universities like Dartmouth and Yale,” Esaki-Smith reinforces the recommendation to apply to your dream school, also to apply to some of the smaller colleges.but also to apply to some of the smaller colleges.
| Anna Esaki-Smith opines that “colleges may be forced to create more attractive options for students,” so there just might be a small, liberal arts college that is “pining away” for your attention and application for Admission. |
The movie, Silver Linings Playbook, is a story about Jennifer Lawrence’s character, Tiffany, who devised an angle to convince Bradley Cooper’s character, Pat, to become her dance partner: Tiffany dangles a pledge to reunite Pat with his estranged wife. The story is typical; Pat is convinced that a person from his past is best for him; meanwhile, the individual who IS best for him is “under his nose,” or steps away from his dancing feet: Tiffany, who happens to be falling in love with him, and not just in his arms while dancing. We’ve seen this plot play out repeatedly in just about every 80’s movie that I can recall, namely Say Anything, for one. The dramatic irony is, of course, that the audience knows what or who’s best for the character before they do…and the story concludes with a surprising, or not so surprising, ending (since it’s Hollywood), after all.
The good news is that this can happen for you too…not necessarily the part about winning a dancing competition, but the part about finding your destiny in a previously unsuspecting person or, rather, place by also applying to a small, private college or two.
Brené Brown, a professor, social worker and prolific author, often speaks about the equivalency between vulnerabilities and strengths; she reminds us that you need to be strong to acknowledge your vulnerabilities in order to transform them into strengths, or something new, or something better. Nothing seems so vulnerable as John Cusack’s character, Lloyd, aiming the boombox at Diane’s window with the song by Peter Gabriel, “In Your Eyes,” emanating from it. Diane discovers what the audience knows the entire time as the dramatic irony plays out: that Lloyd was “right under her nose,” or window, the whole time, and that they are each other’s destiny, or happy ending.
What song or personal narrative will be your “boom box” that gets the attention of the school with which you are in love, or the school that just might be trying to get your attention, as you apply elsewhere? Is there a small, private school out there to which you might also apply and with which you might fall in love? Might you find a small school attractive “in your eyes?” Might you find yourself dancing on a campus, if not a dance floor?
-Donna Valenti,
Write For Admission
Take the “first step” and reach out to Write For Admission.
Call or Text me @516-205-2593.
