Last week, hundreds of high school seniors received their letter of acceptance to Duke—a formal validation of all the exorbitant work they’ve invested into their burgeoning academic careers. The excitement of those admission letters, which is understandable, represents hundreds of unique stories, all of which will soon culminate in the incoming Class of 2019.
By the time most wide-eyed prospective freshmen had finished reading their letters, The Chronicle had already managed to publish and profile the admission statistics for the incoming class. More closely resembling a financial statement, our student daily reaffirmed the fact that Duke is staggeringly selective. At 9.4 percent acceptance rate for regular decision applicants, admission to Duke remains as competitive as ever—though that .4 percent increase from last year finally appears to offer some wiggle room.
Duke hardly stands alone in the effort to shave off acceptance percentage points and boost matriculation rates. There is little question that the Ivy League’s increasing emphasis on admissions selectivity encouraged other high profile universities to follow suit. The popularity of the Common App has similarly made the admissions process a sort of frenzy. Regardless, the trend in higher education—and particularly that of elite universities—has been to make earning a golden ticket that much more difficult. Because that incentive doesn’t hurt universities, one begins to wonder: at whose expense?
In many ways, one marginalized group may be the largest applicant demographic of all: American public school students. While Duke has consistently hovered around a split 65 percent public schools and 35 percent private, international and other secondary educations, the Class of 2018 saw the number of public school students decrease by five percent . In as calculated a game as college admissions, that chunk is particularly notable.
The decision of top universities to embrace the Common App is likely the biggest reason that application rates have seen record highs. The actual time commitment of applying to so many colleges—particularly those that are a reach—made the application process more cumbersome. Reducing that process to a checklist certainly shrinks the barriers to applying to elite schools, and appeals to the “what if” nature in all of us.
However, the likelihood that all these new applications proportionately represent private and public schools are slim. Though the exact numbers aren’t available, an increase in applications probably pits more public school students against one another.
It’s worth noting that at 23 percent, the number of private school student comprising the Class of 2018 is nearly two and a half times the number of private school students in the United States. On one hand, that makes sense. More often than not private schools emphasize their college preparatory nature, as well as their ability to help capable students matriculate to the best universities. That benefit is almost formally married to the cost, and it reflects in admission rates.
However, the increase in competition means that more students are fighting for the same number of spots. Given recent statistical trends and the emphasis of many private schools on college preparation, the average public school student seems more likely to be fighting the rising tide.
By good fortune, the public high school I attended had a college counseling office that offered every advantage they had to make students’ dream schools a reality. Yet, budget cuts in my senior year threatened even the existence of that office and all the services it offered. The reality is that some public high schools don’t even have a specific college counseling office. For many private schools, the college counselors are as irreplaceable a part of the staff as the teachers, meaning they are not an expendable part of the budget.
By no stretch is this meant to be an indictment of private or public schooling, nor the integrity of the admissions process. The advantages and disadvantages are inherent. Nonetheless, the college admissions process has become an industry in and of itself. ACT and SAT prep, essay tutors and private counseling can cost families thousands of dollars. The driving force behind that business happens to be admission competition, and so long as Princeton Review ACT courses fill up, there are no signs of that slowing down.
Considering that the quality and character of incoming Duke students remains high, there is little incentive to change this system, and perhaps there shouldn’t be. However, recognizing the size of the industry that college admissions has given birth to means recognizing that those services are attainable at a cost not everyone can afford. Reporting application rates boosts the profile of any university, but it doesn’t change the fact that more and more qualified students are pitted against one another. When the hair-splitting factors to determine acceptance are increasingly available based on cost, it is public school students who most likely suffer.
A public high school education is something I’m proud to possess, as will the private Duke degree I’ve convinced my parents I’ll be able to earn. Yet, each year that the new crop of Dukies is announced I can’t help but wonder if I was one year away from losing out to a kid who could afford a fantastic experience that I couldn’t.
Caleb Ellis is a Trinity junior. His column runs every other Tuesday.
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