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What makes a school hot?

I think it is fair to say schools that in the past TWO YEARS* have seen a substantial increase in applications, stronger frosh class profiles, and yield rates that stay relatively similar to past years (indicating that as a school is more selective they are still convincing stronger students to enroll at the same rate as weaker students in past years).

Cite your statistics to show the trend for the colleges you select. I think this can be a fascinating post. Don't repeat or just list schools!!!

*Note: TWO YEARS is a recommended barometer as there are many schools that can now be considered perennial hotties like USC, NYU and UCLA. These schools experienced their major increase over the past ten years and now they are always HOT.

By Dazed04confused (Dazed04confused) on Friday, July 09, 2004 - 11:17 am: Edit

I will start with my school to be: FORDHAM.

Apparently Fordham had like 4,000 applications ten years ago and this year received over 14,000 applications. There have been application increases of at least 10% for the past four years. The acceptance rate finally dropped below 50% this year from 53-54% last year and the SAT average is now firmly set in the 1200's. The Class of 2008 is also the most diverse multiculturally and geographically compared to any previous class.

By Tsdad (Tsdad) on Friday, July 09, 2004 - 11:36 am: Edit

Growing endowments, increasing selectivity, and a leap in academic reputuation aside, one should not underestmate the virtue of being co-national football champs as the basis for making a school hot. I know on CC this means little, but it carrys weight, for better or worse, elsewhere. Witness Virginia Tech's growth in attractiveness at the same time Michael Vick was quarterbacking the Hokies. Don't you also think that Duke's great basketball run over the last decade has had something to do with making it a hot college?

By Alan5 (Alan5) on Friday, July 09, 2004 - 12:08 pm: Edit

Northeastern has been a hot school for the last two years. The quantity and quality of the applicants pool continues to increase at an astounding rate. Some stats:

2002:

17,000 applied
65% accepted
26% yield
Barrons rating "Competitive"


2003:

21,000 applied
47% accepted
28% yield
Barrons rating "Very Competitive"

2004:

24,500 applied
40% accepted.
31% yield
Barron Rating "Highly Competitive"

At this rate, Northeastern should expect recieve about 27,000 to 28,000 applicants for the class entering in the fall of 2005 and should expect to see a yield rate of 34-35%. NEU's acceptance should also drop to the 30% range.
This may put NEU in the Barrons "Most Competitive" category.

Read this Boston Globe Article:
http://www.boston.com/globe/search/stories/reprints/ahigher080803.htm

The problem is that the current U.S. News rankings are based on stats from the class that enrolled in 2002. The new rankings that come out in August will reflect the stats of the 2003 class which are substantially better.

By Sokkermom (Sokkermom) on Friday, July 09, 2004 - 12:09 pm: Edit

Another factor in making a school "Hot" (or hotter) may be the administration's decision to go to a non-binding Early Action application option from a binding Early Decision option.

This year's winner in this Category: YALE

By Dazed04confused (Dazed04confused) on Friday, July 09, 2004 - 12:32 pm: Edit

Actually, Fordham benefited from the same move to Early Action, except it is both non-binding and non-restrictive!

By Alan5 (Alan5) on Friday, July 09, 2004 - 12:41 pm: Edit

Another factor to consider is that urban schools are very hot right now. This is mentioned in the Boston Globe article. Fordham, Northeastern, NYU, Emerson, and Boston Univeristy have all seen an increase in applicants.

By Dazed04confused (Dazed04confused) on Friday, July 09, 2004 - 12:54 pm: Edit

Very true...definitely in good company. Why go to college somewhere where the "real world" is only talked about in the classroom. Nevermind the benefits of diversity, college should be about pushing yourself, being open-minded, experiencing life, different cultures, not just partying in a frat or a bar, which you can still do in a city also-with more variety. And for internships...I just don't understand how anyone wants to go to school at some places in the middle of nowhere..I mean maybe a top-notch liberal arts college, but frankly it just doesn't seem as good of a "life preparation."

By Bunmushroom (Bunmushroom) on Friday, July 09, 2004 - 06:35 pm: Edit

USC

By Alan5 (Alan5) on Friday, July 09, 2004 - 06:37 pm: Edit

Yup, USC is another popular urban school. Others include George Washington, Georgetown, and American University.

By Leftcoast (Leftcoast) on Friday, July 09, 2004 - 06:38 pm: Edit

Soccermom: Is Yale now EA and not ED? Thanks.

By Sokkermom (Sokkermom) on Friday, July 09, 2004 - 09:20 pm: Edit

Left Coast:

This is from Yale's website.

If you would like an admissions decision by mid-December, you may apply under Yale's Single-Choice Early Action program. The program is like other non-binding plans in that candidates who are admitted early need not respond to the offer of admission until May 1, and may apply Regular Decision to other schools. This would, for example, allow you to compare offers of financial aid in the spring. Yale's early plan is unlike standard Early Action programs in that you may not apply Early Action or Early Decision to any other school.

By Flopsy (Flopsy) on Saturday, July 10, 2004 - 12:34 am: Edit

Northeastern is so hot right now that it'll be on equal selectivity with Northwestern in a couple of years.

By Kk19131 (Kk19131) on Saturday, July 10, 2004 - 12:47 am: Edit

HAHA! I don't think so!

By Alan5 (Alan5) on Saturday, July 10, 2004 - 02:09 am: Edit

Who knows, NEU does have a lot of things going for it like a great location, world class facilities, revamped academics, and a top notch internship program. I suppose that anything is possible. NYU did it.

By Kk19131 (Kk19131) on Saturday, July 10, 2004 - 02:40 am: Edit

Northeastern and Northwestern equal? This will happen just about around the time Howard is equal to Harvard.

By Afterhours (Afterhours) on Saturday, July 10, 2004 - 05:44 am: Edit

USC!

By Alan5 (Alan5) on Saturday, July 10, 2004 - 08:28 am: Edit

Northwestern was once a regional agricultural school that very few people outside of the midwest had heard of. The school went more national in the 1970s and expanded its programs. Now its one of the top schools in the country. Northeastern is only now making the transition to a national school and is being flooded with applicants. Northeastern is also well endowed ($$$), has a great location, and has made connections with top companies through its internship program. So its entirely possible that in the near future Northeastern could be viewed at the same level as Northwestern.

By Ay_Caramba (Ay_Caramba) on Saturday, July 10, 2004 - 11:54 am: Edit

BC is starting to heat up I think, they're getting a lot more selective

By Enarang (Enarang) on Saturday, July 10, 2004 - 11:57 am: Edit

Babson is jumping on the band wagon. It is also getting more selective as time goes on.

By Par72 (Par72) on Saturday, July 10, 2004 - 12:10 pm: Edit

BC benefits from its location but its academics are average-didn't have any Rhodes winners until this year. BC was a commuter school for most of its history. In Boston area there are several schools with much higher reps-Harvard,Tufts,Wellesley,Holy Cross,Brandeis,MIT.

By Vulcano (Vulcano) on Saturday, July 10, 2004 - 12:49 pm: Edit

Tulane is rapidly growing more prestigious, getting more applications, investing in the campus and good students, and just generally becoming a HOT SCHOOL. Expect it to make some big jumps in rankings.

By Becks777 (Becks777) on Saturday, July 10, 2004 - 09:36 pm: Edit

UIC

By Ejpowers87 (Ejpowers87) on Saturday, July 10, 2004 - 10:59 pm: Edit

BAH- Ay caremba, BC has always been very competitive. People say they are overrated (I don't believe it though, It's a great school).

BC has always been a hot school, but I think the biggest "standings-leaper" is Northeastern. In 5 years, they will be a top teir 2 university, and in 10 they will be top tier, no doubt. The co-op program is very popular, especially as the job market gets more competitive.

By Par72 (Par72) on Saturday, July 10, 2004 - 11:27 pm: Edit

Universities-Duke,UChicago,NYU,Notre Dame ; LAC's-Colgate,Davidson,Holy Cross,Kenyon.

By Chriscornelluv (Chriscornelluv) on Saturday, July 10, 2004 - 11:52 pm: Edit

Where does Emory stand?

By Savedbythebell7 (Savedbythebell7) on Monday, July 12, 2004 - 06:07 pm: Edit

San Diego State, Cal Poly SLO. Both schools have had dramatic application increases in the last four years. At San Diego state, the application have gone from around 15,000 to 44,000 in the last 4 years and they cut the freshmen class size from 8,000 to 4,000.

By Scubasteve (Scubasteve) on Monday, July 12, 2004 - 07:53 pm: Edit

"BC has always been a hot school, but I think the biggest "standings-leaper" is Northeastern. In 5 years, they will be a top teir 2 university, and in 10 they will be top tier, no doubt. The co-op program is very popular, especially as the job market gets more competitive. "

Quite the contrary... as the co-op program improves it will help boost northeastern, however it will plateau at a point and effect the school negatively. To make a co-op program the foundation of the school is just way way too preprofessional to ever see the likes of tier 1 status

By Alan5 (Alan5) on Monday, July 12, 2004 - 08:04 pm: Edit

Northeastern's rise is not soley attributable to the improvement of the co-op program. Northeastern's has several other things going for it including, location, campus, residence halls, and academic programs not offered by other schools in the area like architecture (only offered at MIT), Pharmacy, Physical Therapy, and engineering (not offered by BC or Brandeis). Northeastern is also the only school in Boston that combines a traditional liberal arts education with the preprofessional fields. Another thing to consider is that Northeastern certainly has the $$$ to make tier 1 status. The school's endowment per student ratio is basically the same as BU. Its only a matter of time.

By Scubasteve (Scubasteve) on Monday, July 12, 2004 - 08:24 pm: Edit

I understand that, but keep in mind BU isnt even a tier 1 university. And yes I understand that NEU combines liberal arts with preprofessional fields, but many top students do not want that (ie. a far greater # of students in the top mba programs came from lacs and more liberal arts oriented schools than the preprofessional undergrad business programs)

I just feel if you overdue the whole preprofessional thing, you create a trade school effect, and veer away from the intellectual enviornment that attracts many top students

By Alan5 (Alan5) on Monday, July 12, 2004 - 09:17 pm: Edit

Sure, but keep in mind that NEU is already starting to attract top students to its honors program. Another thing to consider is that most of the top grad schools require some work experience. Northeastern's co-op program is a huge edge when it comes to landing that first real job. This and NEU's revamped curriculm integrating liberal arts with preprofessional studies, makes the school very attractive to applicants.

By Fuzzzylogicc (Fuzzzylogicc) on Monday, July 12, 2004 - 10:27 pm: Edit

ality not quantity. App numbers and yield haven't really changed that much - the school is just getting more competitive applicants - so presumably it's academics/prestige not sports that's made Duke hot. And interestingly, Duke's applications actually dropped after they won a national title in the early nineties. Going back even farther, Duke was featured just getting more competitive applicants - so presumably it's academics/prestige not sports that's made Duke hot. And interestingly, Duke's applications actually dropped after they won a national title in the early nineties. Going back even farther, Duke was featuredsality not quantity. App numbers and yield haven't really changed that much - the school is just getting more competitive applicants - so presumably it's academics/prestige not sports that's made Duke hot. And interestingly, Duke's applications actually

By Ana_Girl (Ana_Girl) on Tuesday, July 13, 2004 - 10:28 pm: Edit

barnard

By Woogiewilly25 (Woogiewilly25) on Wednesday, July 14, 2004 - 11:51 am: Edit

University of Maryland...Reputation is going up, and the sports programs attract SO many students (Football, Basketball and LAX)...Out of state is getting competative, and they have a few really well known programs (Business, Engineering, journalism..) And granted the town of college park is a dump...2 min ride to Georgetown, 30 min ride to baltimore, and 10 min ride to DC...and there's a ton of other schools not too far away (Hopkins, Loyola, Towson, Gtown, American, Catholic...) Hey, they got me :o)

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

Two minute ride to Georgetown? what part of College Park are you talking about? Are you sure you're not confusing it with Glover Park?

By Lenk58 (Lenk58) on Thursday, July 15, 2004 - 10:17 am: Edit

There goes Alan hyping and pumping NEU again. Look at evryone of his posts they all are hype jobs. It's very funny and quite desperate. US News still ranks NEU as a tier 3 school.

By Alan5 (Alan5) on Thursday, July 15, 2004 - 10:36 am: Edit

"US News still ranks NEU as a tier 3 school."

Yeah but its too bad that the stats that the magazine used to tabulate the rankings are two years old. What will you say when NEU moves up to the tier II next month when the updated rankings come out?

By Lenk58 (Lenk58) on Thursday, July 15, 2004 - 11:22 am: Edit

Alan I would say that it's % of prof with terminal degrees is low, Grad rate is low, peer assessment is low, etc.

By Alan5 (Alan5) on Thursday, July 15, 2004 - 11:45 am: Edit

Yeah but you haven't seen the new numbers yet. By the way, what year are you at Villanova? Did you go to any basketball games last fall?

By Scubasteve (Scubasteve) on Thursday, July 15, 2004 - 01:36 pm: Edit

last year, most of the nova basketball team got suspended for the season for making unauthorized calls on a university calling account

By Alan5 (Alan5) on Thursday, July 15, 2004 - 02:02 pm: Edit

Ok, but what year are you in school?

By Scubasteve (Scubasteve) on Thursday, July 15, 2004 - 02:47 pm: Edit

i go to lehigh --1st year

By Collegeparent (Collegeparent) on Thursday, July 15, 2004 - 06:51 pm: Edit

35 hot schools, in no particular order:

Stanford
Duke
Georgetown
Swarthmore
Boston College
Colgate
Davidson
Haverford
Northwestern
Rice
Vassar
Bates
Bucknell
Connecticut College
Dickinson
George Washington
Gettysburg
Kenyon
New York University
St. Lawrence
Skidmore
Penn State
UConn
USC
Vanderbilt
Wake Forest
Maryland
Sarah Lawrence
Denison
Clemson
James Madison
Virginia Tech
Gonzaga
Pepperdine
Delaware