To make their schools look even more selective, colleges love to publicize the number of applications they receive each year. Once they tell about the thousands of students who apply, they then share the small percentage of students they actually welcome to their campuses. Proclaiming just a 7 percent or 9 percent rate, colleges hope to make themselves look attractive and win the popularity contest among the best students.
The Chronicle of Higher Education and The New York Times have a great collaborative story on the topic posted here. Check it out and share with high school students the concept of application inflation, encouraging them to look beyond acceptance rates to other aspects of what makes an institution a good fit for them.