The cloud around the silver lining

Bad News U: Colleges Reject Record Numbers, reports the WSJ. Before looking at the piece itself, let's ask ourselves in what ways would all-time high numbers of rejected students be bad?

1. Universities have decided that their student bodies are too large, and are therefore rejecting more applicants in order to reduce the number of students attending the school.

Yeah, right.

2. The number of matriculations remains the same or even rises, but there are proportionally more applicants to the school, so even if admissions remain stable to rise, the ratio of acceptances to rejections falls.

But wait, that's not bad.

But it is what the WSJ reports as "bad news:"

The college-admissions season set records this year -- both in the number of students who applied, as well as the number of students who were rejected.

In fact, applications are way up, but admissions remains about the same at the schools cited. Therefore, the overall rejection rate falls, but there is no difference in the number of students accepted. Just how is this bad?

This is bad, as far as a school would be concerned: admission rates rise because the number of applications drops. That means that the school would be seen as less desirable to attend than before, and this statistic would send shivers throughout the school's administration. You can bet that no one is panicking because there are more applications than before, though.

What's driving the higher apps?

First, both Harvard and Princeton universities eliminated their early-applicant programs this year. That means students who otherwise would have secured a spot at one of these schools in the fall also applied to other schools. Second, moves by highly selective schools to increase financial aid for middle- to upper-income students put the high tuition bills within reach of more families.

In early-admissions processes, there is an "apply by" date, usually in late spring to mid-summer, in which universities will accept "early admission" applicants if they make a binding agreement to attend if accepted. A lot of students do that, but it fills spaces in the freshman class, leaving fewer spaces for students who don't decide to whom to apply until later in the year.

Second, how is it a bad thing that more financial-aid money is being made available, especially to applicants who would previously have received little or none?

Surprising for the Wall Street Journal to proclaim this trend as "bad news." Of all papers, it should have realized that this trend is good news, not bad.