What makes a college highly selective?

Hello, as I'm starting my college search, I am often coming across the term 'highly selective' when it describes some schools. What exactly does this mean? Is it all about the admission rate, or do they also consider factors like average ACT/SAT scores, GPA, ECs, etc? I'd appreciate some clarity on this, please.

The term "highly selective" refers not just to the low acceptance rate, but also to the overall competitiveness of the applicant pool.

One factor in understanding a college's selectivity is indeed its acceptance rate—generally, the lower the acceptance rate, the more selective the college. Many highly selective colleges have single-digit acceptance rates. This leads to the competitiveness of gaining admission, but it's important to note that a low acceptance rate does not automatically translate into a high-quality education.

However, highly selective colleges also have a very high bar for academic achievement. Students applying to these schools typically have high GPAs, and even though many colleges have adopted test-optional policies in recent years, previously, average SAT and ACT scores were traditionally quite high for accepted students. Some schools like Dartmouth, Harvard, Purdue, Brown, Yale, UT Austin, and Caltech require the SAT or ACT for the 2024-2025 application cycle.

Extracurricular involvement is another facet of selectivity. Many successful applicants to top colleges have significant, impressive extracurricular activities—a "highly-developed specialty" or "spike," showing a great deal of success in an area.

In simple terms, "highly selective" schools look for applicants who stand out amongst an already impressive applicant pool. It isn't just one factor, like grades or test scores, that makes an applicant competitive at these colleges—it's a combination of various factors.

It's crucial to remember, though, that while these factors can contribute to understanding what makes a college highly selective, every institution has its specific selection process and criteria, so it's valuable to research this for each school you're interested in.