Three New York universities – the most of any state – made a list of 20 schools that defied recent trends and posted the smallest decreases in student acceptance rates over the past 12 years, according to a new study by BusinessStudent.com.
Topping that list was William & Mary University in Virginia, which saw its acceptance rate actually increase 12.5 percent between 2006 and 2018, the analysis found.
The New York universities on the list were Syracuse, where the acceptance rate was up 2 percent; Rensselaer (down 33.8 percent); and Rochester (down 34.2 percent).
Among the 51 top schools in the study, the average college acceptance rate was 35.9 percent in 2006, compared to the current 22.6 percent. Average acceptance rates across all 50 states were down by 37 percent between 2006 and 2018, the study concluded.
The decline is attributed to an increased demand for admissions, particularly among international students, into top-rated, U.S. schools.
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U.S. Colleges with the Lowest Decrease in Acceptance Rates
Rank | School | 2006 Acceptance Rate | 2018 Acceptance Rate | % Decrease |
1 | William & Mary University | 32% | 36% | -12.5% |
2 | Syracuse University | 51% | 52% | -2% |
3 | Penn State University | 58% | 56% | 3.4% |
4 | Brandeis University | 36% | 34% | 5.6% |
5 | Boston College | 29% | 27% | 6.9% |
6 | University of Wisconsin | 58% | 53.8% | 7.2% |
7 | University of Illinois | 65% | 60% | 7.7% |
8 | University of Texas at Austin | 49% | 40% | 18.4% |
9 | University of North Carolina | 34% | 27% | 20.6% |
10 | Emory University | 24% | 18.5% | 22.9% |
11 | University of Florida | 48% | 36% | 25% |
12 | University of Virginia | 37% | 26.5% | 28.4% |
13 | Washington University in St. Louis | 21% | 15% | 28.6% |
14 | Yale University | 9% | 6.3% | 30% |
15 | University of Washington | 68% | 45% | 33.8% |
16 | Rensselaer University | 67% | 44.3% | 33.9% |
17 | Georgetown University | 22% | 14.5% | 34.1% |
18 | Rochester University | 45% | 29.6% | 34.2% |
19 | Notre Dame University | 32% | 21% | 34.4% |
20 | Carnegie Mellon University | 34% | 22% | 35.3% |