ESJ Students Outperform in College Admissions Process

With admission to highly publicized schools becoming more competitive each year, Episcopal’s College Counseling team works to support and advise students, ensuring that they are well informed and well prepared as they make choices in high school and throughout the college search and application process. 

While the college application process remains much the same from year to year, the overall landscape of college admissions continuously changes in response to market demands, demographic shifts, evolving policies, and institutional priorities. Many recent changes have resulted in more applications being submitted to highly publicized colleges and universities, including the University of Florida and Florida State University. 

Episcopal students continue to outperform in the admissions process, with a higher rate of admission than the overall population. For example, ESJ’s three-year average admit rate at UF is 45%, while UF’s overall average is 30%. Similarly, in the last three years, FSU offered admission to approximately 25% of freshman applicants, while more than 60% of ESJ applicants were admitted. It’s worth noting that ESJ does not limit who may apply nor require high achieving students to submit applications. 

While there is an increase in selectivity at many familiar universities, long-time Georgia Tech Director of Admission Rick Clark shares this valuable perspective: “Particularly, around this time of year, there are many articles published, news reports broadcast, or social media posts leading people to believe it’s impossible to get into college, and that the competition is increasing every year. This is fundamentally false – and increasingly so. The average admit rate for four-year universities in our country is 67%. In other words, most colleges admit most applicants.” 

A high-level overview of the current landscape provides valuable context to understand the existing narrative around college admissions. Increases in applications being submitted are a result of myriad factors, including the increased ease of applying, an increased number of test-optional institutions, and quite simply more high school seniors. Gone are the days of completing separate applications for each school. More than 1,000 colleges and universities use The Common Application, a centralized application which allows students to quickly and easily apply to as many as 20 schools. With the increased ease of applying, the average number of applications per student increased from five per student in 2019 to seven per student in 2021. 

More than 1,800 colleges and universities practice test-optional admissions, meaning that students have a choice of whether to submit ACT or SAT scores as a part of the admissions review. As a result, reported test averages aren’t as much of a deterrent as they may have been to prospective students in the past which in turn has resulted in some students applying to institutions they may have previously shied away from.

In addition to these factors, the sheer number of high school seniors in the United States has increased substantially over the last 20 years – from three million in the class of 2003 to 3.75 million anticipated in the class of 2023. Hundreds of thousands more students applying for essentially the same number of first-time-in-college openings nationwide means there is more demand with no change in “supply”, thereby driving down the admit rate at many familiar institutions. 

Episcopal College Counseling’s student-centered approach to college counseling endeavors to know and nurture each student, helping them gain a sense of self, keep an open mind, and ultimately have college options where they can continue to grow and thrive. This intentional approach, which begins in ninth grade, helps students to develop a well-balanced college list and put their best foot forward in each application process. Keeping students and families well-informed about the evolving landscape of college admissions and helping them navigate the entire process, Episcopal college counselors are dedicated to helping each student identify a range of schools that align with their values and goals.