Collegewise counselor Monica Brown forwarded me this post from Ken Anselment, dean of admission and financial aid at Lawrence University, entitled, Don’t believe scary college admission tales. Here’s my favorite part:

“[Maria] Furtado [executive director of Colleges That Change Lives] likes to put the issue this way: ‘Americans love things that frighten us. We love roller coasters, scary movies and stories about college admission.’ The problem with these scary admissions stories is that they generally cluster around that small group of colleges — you know who they are — that admit only 5 to 7 percent of their applicants. And while single-digit figures are certainly the norm when we’re discussing low temperatures around the Fox Valley this time of year, they’re hardly the norm when it comes to college admissions. The truth about college admissions may surprise you, because it’s far less exciting — and way more hopeful — than you might be inclined to believe if you put too much stock in those scary college admissions stories. According to the 2013 State of College Admission Report published annually by the National Association for College Admission Counseling, the mean acceptance rate among all four-year U.S. colleges was 64 percent. This means that the average college admitted nearly two-thirds of the students who applied. According to the same report, 80 percent of all four-year U.S. colleges admit more than 50 percent of the students who apply. In other words, those super-selective colleges that are the focus of so many mainstream media stories are the exception, not the norm.”