There are record-low acceptance rates at the nation’s most selective schools.

At the same time, popular schools are seeing more applications than ever, generating more revenue for them, writes Hilary Burns for Philadelphia Business Journal.

Here in Delaware County, Swarthmore College was ranked 14^th on a nationwide top 25 list of the most selective colleges, based on 2020 admission rates from the U.S. Department of Education.

It received 11,630 applications in 2020. Of those, 9% were admitted. This year, only 7% were admitted, according to the data.

College applications became more competitive after schools paused or ended standardized exams like SATs during the pandemic.

“Students are applying to many schools that they never would have applied to in the past,” Kim Reid, principal analyst at research and consulting firm Eduventures, said in a recent interview. “They are taking a chance at schools that they would have considered beyond their reach.”

That meant more applications going to elite schools, even though most did not increase the number of students they accept.

In fact, 14 of the top 25 colleges that have released admissions data this spring report even lower acceptance rates than in 2020.

Read more at the Philadelphia Business Journal about low acceptance rates at selective colleges.

This animated graph shows elite college acceptance rates from 1940 to 2022.