Recently, Stanford University announced that it will no longer be sharing its undergraduate acceptance rate with the public in their typical spring press conference. A main way to measure prestige, our increasingly low admissions rate will no longer be paraded on Top 10 rankings of colleges around the world.

As a member of the class of 2022 who managed to sneak into the 4.3 percent of applicants who attend classes today, it feels quite surreal to be standing on campus. According to an article in Forbes Magazine, almost 48,000 people were rejected, and yet here I am.

The acceptance rate need not be a source of bragging rights, but there comes a time when I am proud to say I am part of that 4.3 percent. The future students in the class of 2023 and beyond will no longer have a number in their back pocket following admissions in the spring without digging for it. Stanford will still provide data to the federal government and other sources, but the public will not easily find it.

Not only does the number sound impressive to others, but it also provides a sort of self-gratification. Knowing you were accepted to one of the top universities in the world, if not the top university, comes with warmth and disbelief that few have the opportunity to experience. While it is nice just knowing this, defining the actual odds that you defied makes the moment of acceptance that much sweeter.

Many, including those already on campus, look forward to finding out the annual acceptance rate. As the rate drops, our confidence goes up. Look at what we’ve done, we think to ourselves: Only a select few get to bike the Circle of Death and stroll through Main Quad. Only the smallest fraction of people who apply will taste the dining hall food, stand in the Red Zone and get lost in Green Library.

Stanford Provost Persis Drell addressed this issue from a different perspective: “We want students to know that when we encourage them to apply to Stanford, it’s not because we wish to be known as the most competitive university with a low admit rate,” Drell said. “It is because we want promising students of all backgrounds to seriously consider the educational opportunities and possibilities at Stanford.”

I can understand the intent behind these actions that Drell outlines and in an ideal world, students should choose a university not based on its acceptance rate, but on its resources and dedication to their intended major (among other factors). Unfortunately, the world is not ideal, and I do not see a future college process that does not include admit rate as a deciding factor. Too many students use these numbers to plan out their application process and without it some might lose their sense of place.

While it is a less proper way of choosing the college experience, it is inherently part of the decision and is largely a good marker for students to choose where to send applications. A student shouldn’t send all of their applications to schools with acceptance rates at less than five percent, there should be a balance, and the percentages lead the way to this balance.

The percentage can indicate picky essay readers and a competitive environment, or it could indicate rigor. I prefer to look at it the second way.

When you see the number, it quantifies the years of work and hardship that went into your position today. Dampening its impact lessens the ability to celebrate your achievements.

 

Contact Maddie Dailey at maddied ‘at’ stanford.edu.