US universities have just finished sending out acceptances to the Class of 2026. As you stare at the offers on hand, you might wonder, now what? This article provides an overview of considerations that students should have when deciding on the best university. Take a look to pick the best school for you!
Acceptance Rates
After getting your offers, I bet the first thing you did was to google “Class of 2026 Acceptance Rates”. Kunduz has provided a list of acceptances from some of the most competitive programs in the US. All information directly come from the university’s own websites or new papers, so it is the most reliable source on the internet! However, certain schools like the University of Pennsylvania, Cornell University, and the University of Chicago have decided to not release the overall admissions rates at the moment, so those data are currently not available. The results show that it is the most competitive year, with record low numbers from the universities.
Note: UPenn and Cornell have not released their overall acceptance rates this year. However, we do know that UPenn’s early decision acceptance rate is 15.63% and Cornell’s early decision acceptance rate is at a record high of 24%.
Careers
Certain schools are known to be strong in certain programs. For example, if you attend a school that has a very well-known computer science program, you might be able to recruit significantly better from another school that offers a less well-known program. This is because of the idea of “target school” where firms prefer to recruit from certain schools above others due to various of factors.
If you are set on a certain career path, then you should look for schools that have an edge in a specific program rather than the overall ranking of the university. Additionally, certain schools tend to have higher starting and mid-career salaries. In the chart below, salaries are ranked based on undergraduates starting salary, mid-career salary, and also provides insights on the percentage of STEM graduates from each school. It is very evident that universities that have a lot of students pursing STEM degrees tend to have higher starting and mid-career salaries. This could also be a consideration as you are selecting your future alma mater.
Extracurriculars
I’m sure when you were writing your “Why xxx” essays, you have conducted thorough research into the resources and opportunities available on campus. Clubs, fraternities, and sororities are definitely really popular among schools in the US. If there are certain interest clubs or organizations that you are very excited to join, that could also be part of your consideration. Maybe there is a professor who is very famous in an area you would like to pursue, and you want to work for him in the future as a Research Assistant, maybe there is an investment club that helps students recruit successfully for finance opportunities.
Student Population
Some schools have a diverse population of international students, others have a stronger group of local students. As we can see in the following exhibit, international students studying in the US mostly come from China and Korea. If diversity in background of students is something you value, then it would also be worthwhile to explores universities that have a strong international presence.
Tuition
Public universities and private universities have different tuition costs because public ones receive funding from the state to lower costs of tuition for in-state students, while private ones rely mostly on donors and students’ tuition to cover their operating costs. However, the geography of public and private schools also makes a difference. The following two datasets provide details on states with the most experience tuition costs for both public and private institutions. It’s very evident that there is a huge tuition gap, but it is also due to the fact that public universities will offer a significantly lower tuition fee for local students, given that they are paying taxes to the local government.
Hopefully after reading this article, you have a better understanding of where to go for college for the next four years (the best time of your life) and what matters most to you when narrowing down your list for university. If you ever need help in the future for affordable learning resources on multiple university level subjects, Kunduz offers some of the fastest and most reliable homework help resources at an affordable rate!