Ivy League Cashes In Teasing Students

Maybe the Ivy League is just not that into you after all: Top colleges are soliciting students to apply, even if they have little chance of acceptance, and then rejecting them, admissions watchers say. The process raises false expectations among students, increases revenue for the colleges, and makes the colleges seem more selective. That exclusivity can make the colleges seem more prestigious. Additionally, colleges make money from the fees that come with every application. For instance, Stanford charges $90 for each application; this year it received a total of $2.6 million in fees. Meanwhile, the College Board, the owner of the SAT, and rival ACT Inc., both make millions of dollars by selling personal details about teenagers who take their tests, so colleges can contact them. Each company charges 33 cents per name. For the most recent tax filing year that ended in June 2009, the College Board took in $60 million, which accounted for almost 10 percent of revenue.