Targeting Highly-Selective Institutions? The Deep-Fit Admissions Advantage
For parents of children aiming for admission to the most highly-selective institutions, making a Deep-Fit™ application to a school can help them achieve their best application outcomes.
How Competitive Have Highly-Selective Admissions Become?
As anyone paying attention to college admissions knows, the chances of getting accepted to many of the most highly sought-after colleges and universities drop year after year. Indeed, a recent Inside Higher Ed article details that the number of applications increased this past application cycle, and acceptance rates decreased, with acceptance rates at some highly selective institutions below 5%. Many public flagships and mid-sized private universities have also become more selective. In her 2022 interview with Frank Bruni, author of the 2016 best seller Where You Go Is Not Who You'll Be: An Antidote to the College Admissions Mania, Katie Couric notes, "Some really good students — I mean extraordinary — didn't get into the colleges of their choice. Some got rejected by many, and some even by all of their choices." Some experts believe that getting into a top college is about to get even more difficult.
How does Lantern College Counseling Handle the Competitive College Admissions Landscape?
At Lantern College Counseling, our students apply to a balanced list of colleges across a range of admissions probabilities, ensuring they will have some excellent choices. They see strong outcomes at schools with a low chance of admission (this past admissions cycle, our students were accepted to 31% of their "reach" schools) due to the admissions advantages of our Deep-Fit approach. But, yes, we do see students with extraordinary credentials denied at highly-selective institutions.
This year, one of our students, Nick, was an outstanding student with impeccable grades (at the top of his high school class), a perfect ACT score (single sitting), strong rigor (including multiple advanced math courses at a community college), and exceptional extracurricular activities (including hundreds of hours as a volunteer EMT, CEO of his AI-based math education company for which he secured seed funding, high school class president, cross country captain, and others.) In other words, he had all the ingredients to make a competitive application to the most highly-selective institutions. After being denied early decision admission to the University of Pennsylvania, he was waitlisted or denied at Boston University, the University of Michigan, Northeastern University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Vanderbilt University, Carnegie Mellon University, Johns Hopkins University, Tufts University, and MIT. The last outcome he opened was Harvard, where he was accepted and is enrolling this fall.
In a sense, it seems like Nick got lucky. While there may be an element of whimsy to his outcomes, far more than luck was at play. Initially, he had applied ambitiously to good-fit schools that weren't necessarily a Deep-Fit because of their reputation and ranking. His early results (denial from the University of Pennsylvania and not being admitted to several schools through early action) were humbling and helped him to understand that he needed to change his approach and make true Deep-Fit applications to his remaining schools. He used this "aha" moment to work significantly on his regular decision applications, better understanding and showing Deep-Fit. Ultimately, he made a Deep-Fit and authentic application to Harvard, giving him his best chances of admission.
What Does it Take to Have Strong Admissions Outcomes at Highly-Selective Institutions?
The basic components of a college application are not a secret:
Academic record (grades and rigor)
Standardized test scores
Personal statement and essays
Letters of recommendation
Extracurricular activities
Awards and honors
Work experience and internships
To be competitive for highly-selective institutions, students must excel in all these areas.
What Else Can Your Child Do To Improve Their Chances of Acceptance into a Highly-Selective Institution?
As we saw with Nick, having these components in place does not guarantee admission to a highly-selective institution. Many students applying to the most highly selective institutions will have ticked all these boxes. Students who differentiate themselves within this competitive pool will have better outcomes. They may distinguish themselves by being the most accomplished within this group, for instance, by achieving national and international accomplishments (I write this during the 2024 Olympics, where the most elite schools are well represented: Harvard by 13, Yale by 20, Princeton by 26, and Stanford by 38 athletes.) Another way a student may stand out is through other interesting and unusual parts of their application - things that most students can't or don't do and that make them "look" different amongst the sea of students who have done many of the more common activities. Additionally, outstanding references can set a student apart from the pack.
What About Demonstrated Interest?
Another important lever to strengthen a student’s application is demonstrated interest. Demonstrated interest can be understood narrowly, such as making college visits, opening emails from schools and following the embedded links, spending time on a school’s website, or writing personal emails to admissions officers. While these steps can make a difference at some schools (when I was on the Board of Admission at Wellesley College, I reviewed which of these steps an applicant had taken,) the most highly selective schools do not track such activities (for example, all Ivy League Institutions, Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Barnard, and others.)
However, an often-overlooked yet more powerful form of demonstrated interest is a Deep-Fit application. A Deep-Fit application shows that a student knows themselves, deeply knows about the school, and knows what they will bring to that specific college community and how they will grow from it. A Deep-Fit application shows a school that a student is genuinely interested in it because the student has spent time learning about the school and thoughtfully demonstrating what they have learned in their application materials.
The Deep-Fit Advantage
Every college and university wants to admit students who will thrive on their campus. Beyond demonstrating interest, a Deep-Fit application is powerful at all institutions, even those that do not track traditional forms of demonstrated interest, because it shows a school that the student has the potential to thrive within their community.
Institutions are overwhelmed with talented applicants, so they have the liberty to pick and choose among them. A Deep-Fit application compellingly differentiates a student from others with similar grades, courses, test scores, and activities who have not deeply researched the institution and have not shown that they are a Deep-Fit. A Deep-Fit application helps an admissions officer see the student on their campus, contributing and thriving.
To ensure the best outcomes, we recommend that students apply to fewer schools rather than more. Families often think that if students apply to more schools, their chance of getting into one is better. While theoretically, it is statistically marginally true that more applications lead to a better chance of admission, such logic assumes the applications are all strong. In practice, we see the opposite. Each year, we see students who apply to too many schools and so are unable to write strong applications that distinguish them in the application pool - that is, demonstrate a Deep-Fit.
What is Deep-Fit?
Most college search guidance is about identifying a good-fit school that meets a student’s general criteria, such as location, size, and academic and social opportunities. These criteria are objective and concrete factors and independent of any given student. With Deep-Fit, choosing a school isn't about chasing prestige, US News and World Report rankings, or fit to expected obvious factors. Of course, these factors are important to consider, but Deep-Fit is more than this. After all, two schools with similar sizes, locations, and academic and social opportunities are not the same, and a student might have vastly different experiences at them. A Deep-Fit college is a good-fit college where a student will have the opportunity to have positive, impactful experiences, meet their specific academic and personal goals, thrive, and lay the foundation for a successful life—to create their future.
Beyond Good-Fit, What Are Your Deep-Fit Criteria?
At Lantern College Counseling, we build a customized college list of good-fit schools for each student based on our work and what we’ve learned about what they seek and value in their college experience. We then guide students to determine which of these good-fit schools are a Deep-Fit for them. What questions should they ask and answer to know if a school is a place where they will have the opportunity to have positive, impactful experiences, meet their specific academic and personal goals, thrive, and lay the foundation for a successful life—to create their future?
Case Study: What Should a Student Consider to Identify Deep-Fit Academic Programs And Make Deep-Fit Applications?
Rankings do not determine fit.
Is the program at a college or a university? The type of institution will impact the student experience.
At a university:
In what school is the program?
Is it possible for students enrolled in different schools at the University to major in their desired subject?
How do students apply to the program at the University? Do students apply, and are they admitted directly to the major or program?
If not admitted directly to the major, what is the process for a student to major in their area of interest? How difficult or easy is it? Is the number of majors capped? Are there criteria for the major? If so, what are they?
What are the requirements for the major and the degree?
CS case study: At Tufts University, students apply and are accepted to either the School of Arts and Sciences or Engineering. Students in both schools may major in CS. There are no caps on the number of CS majors. The major itself is virtually the same when pursued from either school. The one distinction in the major is that a year-long senior capstone project is required at the School of Engineering. However, the degree requirements outside the major - beyond the major requirements - are significantly different in each school. Generally, students pursuing a BSCS in the School of Engineering must take more math and science courses, whereas students pursuing a BA/BS in Computer Science in the School of Arts and Sciences must take more humanities, arts, and social sciences courses, including foreign language. A co-op program is also available to students majoring in CS in the School of Engineering but not the School of Arts and Sciences.
How many faculty members are in a student’s potential major department? What type of programs, research, and opportunities do they support?
How many courses are offered? What are they? Your child should examine the course catalog at schools and identify those of interest.
Are there specialization tracks available within their major? What are they? Again, your child should examine the course catalog at schools, identifying those of interest.
Ask a student currently majoring in your child’s potential major how large their classes are and if they’ve had trouble getting a seat in a class. At some schools, getting a seat in a CS class is highly challenging. Do not underestimate this concern.
What can you learn about the diversity of the institution’s faculty and student body? Female students and students of color may be particularly interested in community members who share their identities. However, all students benefit from a diverse community.
Remember the big six college experiences linked to life preparedness and look for the potential for your child to have these experiences:
Do students report having close relationships with faculty and mentors within their potential major department(s)?
How easy is it to do research with a professor?
What is the advising system for students?
Is there a co-op program?
What information does the Career Services Office provide about internships and job placement for majors?
Is there a required senior capstone project or thesis?
What types of student organizations are available?
Considering Deep-Fit Beyond Academics
Students should do a similar dive to learn deeply about all of their good-fit criteria at the schools they are considering.
For instance, if a student is interested in playing D3 softball in college, important questions about what she would experience at that college with respect to softball include:
Is it realistic that she could play for the team?
What would it take for her to be able to play for the team?
Is the team seeking someone who plays the position she plays?
What is the size of the roster?
If it seems feasible that she could play for the team, would she WANT to?
What is the coach like?
What is the team culture and community? Does she see herself fitting into it?
Would she get playing time?
Would she have opportunities to grow and develop?
As another example, if a student is eager to have access to a city, the student should consider these questions:
How close is the city?
How do students get to the city? Can they walk? If not, is public transportation available? A shuttle?
How often do students go to the city?
Why do students go to the city? For fun? Professional opportunities?
To what extent is the school integrated with the city and its community? For instance, do its classes use its resources to extend the classroom experience (such as museums, notable architectural sites)? Do its extracurricular activities serve and learn from the local community?
The Deep-Fit Advantage
Answering these types of questions will position students to make Deep-Fit applications so that - like Nick! - they stand out in the highly-selective application pool, shining above other talented students with similar grades, courses, test scores, and activities who have not shown that they are a Deep-Fit.
Where Is Your Child On Their Journey To Find Deep-Fit?
Access Lantern’s Deep-Fit Assessment tool.
