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[divider]The Campanile’s Goal[/divider]

The college data of the past few years provided by Naviance displays some salient, optimistic trends concerning college acceptance rates for students at Palo Alto High School. This data compares the number of students who applied to various colleges to those who were accepted. The schools listed range from Ivy Leagues and Universities of California (UC) to less selective schools such as the University of Oregon. The aim of this article is to help educate incoming seniors and those interested in learning about how the college process has changed over the past few years. Remember, the colleges displayed are the most popular among Paly students.

[divider]Ivy Stress[/divider]

Despite popular opinion, the data shows Ivy League schools continue to pick about the same number of students from Paly every year. However, the number of total applicants has dramatically increased. For example, The University of Pennsylvania consistently accepts two to three students from Paly yearly. Moreover, the Ivy League graphs don’t show that current students are being accepted at a lesser rate, rather the chances of being accepted have become more slim because more people are applying.

[divider]Statistical Advantages[/divider]

Another positive trend detected by the graphs is many schools still accept large percentages of Paly students who apply. Even if Harvard boasts only a 7 percent acceptance rate for Paly students, UC Davis has an acceptance rate around 41 percent. Additionally, Carnegie Mellon accepts Paly students at a rate of 35 percent, meaning that over one-third of students who apply are accepted at these two selective schools.

[divider]There is Always Hope[/divider]

Some colleges guarantee nearly universal acceptance. For example, Foothill College accepts 98 percent of students who apply. The large number of schools across the nation means that there are many colleges, and therefore, there are many chances to get accepted into college. Despite the view held by some that the concept of attending college may be out of reach for them, there are many colleges who are fairly liberal in their acceptance policies.