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Came across this study that examines the outcomes of men who attended elite colleges in 1969.

At the end of the study, the authors reproduce the selectivity tables found at the back of the Barron's Profiles of American Colleges from 1969.

Back then, Barrons still had the selectivity categories (most competitive, highly competitive, etc.), but they looked very different than they do today.

Most Competitive, as defined by Barron’s, includes “schools in the country whose
admission standards are most rigorous, and in which the intellectual caliber of the student
body appears to be the highest. In general, these schools want students who rank in the
top 10-25 percent of their graduating class; median SAT scores of 675-800; A to B+
average. Usually, also, these colleges can admit only a small percentage of those
applying.”
Only these colleges were listed as "Most Competitive":

Amherst College, Mass.
Bryn Mawr College, Pa.
California Institute of Technology, Calif.
Columbia College of Columbia University, N.Y.
Dartmouth College, N. H.
Harvard University, Mass.
Jackson College for Women, Mass.
John Hopkins University, Md.
Massachusetts Inst. of Technology, Mass.
Mount Holyoke College, Mass.
New College, Fla.
Pembroke College of Brown University, R.I.
Pomona College, Calif.
Princeton University, N.J.
Radcliffe College, Mass.
Rice University, Tex.
Smith Coll., Mass.
Stanford University, Calif.
Swarthmore College, Pa.
Webb Institute of Naval Architecture, N.Y.
Wellesley Coll., Mass.
Wesleyan University, Conn.
Williams College, Mass.
Yale University, Conn.


Highly Competitive includes colleges with students who are in “at least the top 20 to 30 percent of their class; SAT medians range from 600 to 675; and the high school averages are usually at least B+ (or slightly lower averages are counterbalanced by particularly high exam scores).”

Furthermore, to provide for finer distinctions within this category, plusses (+) have been added before some entries. “Schools so marked have the most stringent admission criteria in the group; most were almost in the ‘Most Competitive’ category.

Alleghemy College, Pa.
Antioch College, Ohio
Bard College, N.Y.
+ Barnard Coll., N.Y.
Bates College, Me
Bennington College, Vt.
Boston College, Mass.
Bowdoin College, Me.
+ Brandeis University, Mass.
+ Brown University, R.I.
Bucknell University, Pa.
+ Carleton College, Minn.
+ Carnegie Mellon University, Pa.
+ Case Inst. Of Technology, Ohio
Claremont Men’s Coll., Calif.
Clark University, Mass.
Colby College, Me.
Colgate University, N.Y.
College of the Holy Cross, Mass.
Connecticut College, Conn.
Cornell University, N.Y.
Davidson College, N.C.
Denison University, Ohio
Dickinson College, Pa.
Duke University, N.C.
General Motors Inst., Mich.
Georgetown Univ., Washington, D.C.
Goucher College, Md.
Grinnell College, Iowa
Hamilton College, N.Y.
Harpur Coll., N.Y. (State University of N.Y. at Binghamtom)
+ Harvey Mudd College, Calif.
+ Haverford College, Pa.
Hobart Coll., N.Y.
Illinois Instiute of Technology, Ill.
Kalamazoo College, Mich.
Kenyen College, Ohio
Lafayette College, Pa.
Lawrence University, Wis.
+ Lehigh University, Pa.
Manhattanville College of the Sacred Heart, N.Y.
+ Middlebury College, Vt.
Northwestern University, Ill.
+ Oberlin College, Ohio
Occidental College, Calif.
+ Reed College, Ore.
Rensseaer Polytechnic Inst., N.Y.
+ St. John’s College, Md.
Sarah Lawrence College, N.Y.
School of Engineering & Applied Science of Columbia University, N.Y.
Shimer College, Ill.
Skidmore College, N.Y.
State University of New York at Albany, N.Y.
State University of New York College at Stony Brook, N.Y.
Trinity College, Conn.
Trinity College, Washington, D.C.
Tufts College of Tufts University, Mass.
Union College, N.Y.
U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo.
U.S. Coast Guard Academy, Conn.
U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, N.Y.
U.S. Military Academy, N.Y.
U.S. Naval Academy, Md.
+ University of Chicago, Ill.
+ University of Pennsylvania, Pa.
University of Rochester, N.Y.
University of Virginia, Va.
Vanderbilt University, Tenn.
+ Vassar College, N.Y.
Washington & Lee University, Va.
Washington Univ., Mo.
Wells College, N.Y.
Wheaton College, Mass.
William Smith College, N.Y.
Worchester Polytechnic Inst., Mass.

By Alan5 (Alan5) on Thursday, July 08, 2004 - 04:51 pm: Edit

Barrons upgraded my school (Northeastern) this year from "Very Competitive" to "Highly Competitive." Five years ago, NEU was only listed as "competitive."

By Subtrunks (Subtrunks) on Wednesday, July 14, 2004 - 06:37 am: Edit

"Jackson College for Women, Mass
Bryn Mawr College, Pa.
Mount Holyoke College, Mass.
New College, Fla. " ..heard of them before but definately not in the context of most competitive..especially for Jackson College and New College ....

Also I have a question
What is the difference between Radcliffe College and Harvard University? Or Pembroke College and Brown Univeristy? Is it that you applied to both seperately like you do with Cornell (i.e. college of engineering and then college of arts and sciences)? Please enlighten me

By Sep2000 (Sep2000) on Wednesday, July 14, 2004 - 08:45 am: Edit

Jackson College = Tufts University (women)

By Hammertime (Hammertime) on Wednesday, July 14, 2004 - 02:26 pm: Edit

"What is the difference between Radcliffe College and Harvard University?"

Radcliffe was for the ladies, and Harvard for the gents. And I believe they were separete in terms of admissions.

By Lenk58 (Lenk58) on Wednesday, July 14, 2004 - 03:08 pm: Edit

Hey Alan will you ever stop hyping NEU. It is still a tier 3 school. Give it a rest. Look at US NEWS

By Alan5 (Alan5) on Wednesday, July 14, 2004 - 05:56 pm: Edit

Hey Lenk, the US News rankings are based on stats that are two years old. The new Barrons guide gives Northeastern a "HIGHLY COMPETITIVE" rating. So give it a rest until the new U.S. News rankings come out in September.

By Hayden (Hayden) on Wednesday, July 14, 2004 - 08:24 pm: Edit

Alan - your enthusiasm for your school is understandable. But I just checked NEU's stats, and their current - not outdated - SAT mid 50% is 1130 - 1280. In other words, the top of NEU's 50% just hits the lowest end of the mid 50 percentile of the 2nd tier schools. So it may be rising, but it has a way to go.

Also, when you say it wasn't true that NEU had to go deep into its waitlist: how does someone find out that info? Do they keep that on their website? Thanks.

By A2a2 (A2a2) on Wednesday, July 14, 2004 - 09:37 pm: Edit

When I went to high school (70s), Pembrooke was reputed to be the most difficult college to get into in the country.

By Carolyn (Carolyn) on Wednesday, July 14, 2004 - 09:53 pm: Edit

I wish Barron's (or someone) still broke things down this way - seems like more useful information then most of the current guides that only list SATs and percentage admitted. It would be helpful to have this type of list.

By Coureur (Coureur) on Thursday, July 15, 2004 - 12:20 am: Edit

Since 1969 was the year I went off to college, I find this data very interesting. However, there are some huge gaps here. Where are all the state schools? Except for two SUNY schools they have been left out of the analysis. Berkeley was highly selective back then too.

By Alan5 (Alan5) on Thursday, July 15, 2004 - 06:54 am: Edit

"Alan - your enthusiasm for your school is understandable. But I just checked NEU's stats, and their current - not outdated - SAT mid 50% is 1130 - 1280. In other words, the top of NEU's 50% just hits the lowest end of the mid 50 percentile of the 2nd tier schools. So it may be rising, but it has a way to go."

My point is that the stats confirm that NEU is now a tier II school. I don't dispute that it has a way to go to be top school. But now that it has made it over the threshold its rise should accelerate at a much faster rate. NEU's selectivity will increase becuase it will attract more applicants. NEU is also in the process of hiring 100 new tenure track faculty. This will lower the student faculty ratio, reduce class sizes, and increase the percentage of faculty with PHDs. These are all factors that U.S. News uses to tabulate the rankings. In turn, these improvements will have a positive impact on NEU's peer assessment which counts for 25% of the ranking. In a few years, NEU will be a top fifty school.

By Lenk58 (Lenk58) on Thursday, July 15, 2004 - 10:21 am: Edit

It is funny how Alan just keeps hyping and pumping. Lok at everyone of his posts and you will see. NEU is a tier 3 school. IT is nice to be proud of your school . Look at prof terminal degress, peer assessment, grad rates etc. Not very good.

By Alan5 (Alan5) on Thursday, July 15, 2004 - 10:31 am: Edit

"Look at prof terminal degress, peer assessment, grad rates etc. Not very good."

Once again, you are citing outdated information. All the new stats clearly show that NEU is Tier II. If you want argue that tier II schools aren't "very good" then that's fine. But most people will disagree with you.

By Lenk58 (Lenk58) on Thursday, July 15, 2004 - 11:24 am: Edit

I state facts. US NEWS ranks NEU as a tier 3. Low profs with degrees, low peer assessment, low grad rates. Used as a safety school for good students, thats why NEU is deep into it's waitlist. Get off the hype and use facts.

By Alan5 (Alan5) on Thursday, July 15, 2004 - 11:52 am: Edit

Yeah but your facts are inherently flawed becuase they are based on outdated information. By the way, NEU actually has a higher yield than your school (Villanova).

By Alan5 (Alan5) on Thursday, July 15, 2004 - 12:27 pm: Edit

Lenk, what year are you at Villanova?

By Subtrunks (Subtrunks) on Thursday, July 15, 2004 - 12:28 pm: Edit

What is the difference between Pembroke College and Brown Univeristy?

By Subtrunks (Subtrunks) on Friday, July 16, 2004 - 03:57 pm: Edit

bump

By Palomino (Palomino) on Friday, July 16, 2004 - 04:56 pm: Edit

Pembroke College was the all-women's college at Brown. The two merged in 1971.

By Subtrunks (Subtrunks) on Saturday, July 17, 2004 - 12:43 pm: Edit

Thank you.