THE TROUBLE WITH STETSON'S RISING ACCEPTANCE RATE

Back in 2019, Stetson’s acceptance rate came in at 60%. In contrast, as of recently, rates have increased tremendously with an acceptance rate of 92% in 2021. With students having to integrate into virtual school for a few years due to COVID-19, it’s possible to say that maybe it’s good that Stetson is accepting almost everyone. However, it does bring up a few concerns as to what the value of education students are getting at Stetson is. And of course, there’s the question as to why such a huge increase occurred at all.

As a high school student applying to Stetson in November of 2018, senior Emily Shamis (‘23) shared that her college application experience was relatively an exciting and “easy” process. Her determining factors for a perfect college included small class sizes, being close to home, and having a variety of programs that she was interested in. So, when she finally received a letter in the mail saying she got into Stetson, a school that met all her requirements, she was thrilled.

According to a survey by Inside Higher Ed, 65% of current college students look for a university that offers their major/program of interest and 56% looked for academic reputation. Although Stetson is a “nationally ranked” school and has been ranked #4 in the 2022-2023 edition of Best Colleges in Regional Universities South, an article titled “Academic Reputation: How U.S. News & World Report Survey Respondents Form Perceptions” tells us that “a move to a less favorable ranking leads an institution to accept a larger percentage of its applicants, while a smaller percentage enrolls.”

Since Stetson has been ranked well compared to other universities, it doesn’t make sense as to why there has been an increase, especially if other schools supposedly only raise their acceptance rate when institutions are performing poorly. Perhaps other issues like virtual schooling and the pandemic have caused many universities, including Stetson, to increase their rates.

When comparing Stetson to other universities across the state of Florida (including public universities), it’s quite interesting to see that no one else has changed their rates. UCF’s acceptance rate has stayed the same since pre-pandemic with an acceptance rate of 44%. FSU’s acceptance rate too has been the same with a rate of 32%. However, Stetson’s sister school, Flagler college, a private college in St. Augustine, had a massive increase in rates as well.

Flagler College’s acceptance rate was at an average of 55% over the past ten years but is now at 74%, making it the highest it’s been in quite some time. But rates at other private schools like Rollins College and University of Miami have stayed the same even through the pandemic.

“I am curious about what they changed to be accepting that many people. With all due respect to the incoming classes, I dont think they’re more qualified than we were,” Shamis said. “Probably less so cause they had quite a few years of virtual [learning].”

Although this could be the case, the only other factor that has changed and keeps changing is the cost, which makes it plausible that the increased tuition could be a factor as to why the acceptance rate keeps rising. The tuition as of now is at about $52,000 making it more expensive than it’s been in recent years.

Because of cost, many students aren’t able to complete their education at Stetson. Charlotte Kard (‘23) knows a handful of people that ended up transferring to UCF or other affordable universities to complete their degree.

“I would not be going here if I didn’t have a scholarship with Army ROTC,” Kard said. “It’s just way too expensive, and I don’t really see why it needs to be that expensive.”

As a chemistry major, Shamis knows that earning her degree takes a lot of dedication, determination, and discipline, which could also be a factor as to why so many students leave.

“I know my degree is hard and so if a bunch of people get in they still would have to take the same classes we took with the same standard we had. Unless that increased acceptance rate is an indicator of the standard changing,” Shamis said. After many attempts to speak to admissions, there still is no comment or remark as to what is causing the lenient acceptance rate for Stetson University. So, we can’t really pinpoint what their opinions as to why these changes have occurred, but it is important to note that the belief amongst students is that components like the pandemic and the tuition hike is playing a huge part.