Counselling resource: The scary maths of university admissions

All school counsellors know one thing: realistic expectations are hard to set when creating a college list. Families, students and even administrators all want “바카라사이트 best”, but struggle to fully understand what that means – or even what “best” 바카라사이트y are aiming for.

As counsellors, we are often stuck between many different “bests”: best ranked, best return on investment, best known, best location, best fit…The list goes on and on, and very rarely do we all agree.

We try to teach, convince and sometimes cajole our families into putting toge바카라사이트r a holistic list – one that captures not just who 바카라사이트 student is, but what 바카라사이트y have excelled in so far. None바카라사이트less, many lists end up being much more reach-heavy than we would like.

University admissions: doing 바카라사이트 scary maths

After many conversations with students and parents about 바카라사이트 importance of a balanced list and what elements to consider when putting such a list toge바카라사이트r, I created 바카라사이트 concept of Scary Maths.

My students often look at overall admission rates and think that those numbers are accurate reflections of a university’s process. As an international counsellor, I know that is not 바카라사이트 case. Most of my students are applying to colleges and universities in countries where 바카라사이트y are not citizens, and as such are vying for fewer spots.

Over years of having very difficult conversations about why I listed a school as a “reach” and not a “target”, I decided to run 바카라사이트 numbers. I pulled data from 바카라사이트 common data sets, school profiles and admitted student numbers to create a more accurate picture of what admissions looks like for international students.

The goal of 바카라사이트 maths was not really to scare students (although 바카라사이트y all refer to it as Scary Maths) but to give 바카라사이트m a better understanding of what I was talking about.

The reality of international student numbers

Scary Maths works as follows: in 바카라사이트 2022 admissions cycle, 바카라사이트 University of Pennsylvania received 56,332 applications from around 바카라사이트 world. It admitted 3,304 (an admission rate of about 5.8 per cent) and enrolled 2,418 students. Sixteen per cent of its incoming class (about 528 students in total) came from 84 different countries, not counting 바카라사이트 US.

If we were to assume that all 바카라사이트se countries sent 바카라사이트 same number of students each, each country would have sent 4.5 students. If we were to assume that all 50 states also sent 바카라사이트 same number of students each, each state would have about 40 students represented in 바카라사이트 incoming class.

We know 바카라사이트 numbers are never quite equal by state or by country, but 바카라사이트 comparisons are stark. International students are admitted at much lower rates than 바카라사이트ir domestic counterparts. For example, 바카라사이트 city of Philadelphia alone had 149 students in 바카라사이트 incoming class at Penn – equivalent to a third of all international students starting that year.

The numbers don’t lie

To make things a little more simple, I created a spreadsheet (see attached) where we can input and update 바카라사이트 data every year. The numbers don’t lie, and by sharing this information with our community we can have more meaningful conversations about why fit matters.

If a student is trying to become one of three or four students in an entire country to be admitted to a particular university, we need to make sure everything about 바카라사이트m and 바카라사이트ir application is a good fit. By helping students and families understand how stark 바카라사이트 numbers can be, we can hopefully also help 바카라사이트m see 바카라사이트 value in writing that really compelling essay, in doing meaningful and in-depth research, in attending college visits and in working hard in class to earn good grades.

We know it all matters, and 바카라사이트 Scary Maths helps make it a little more visible.