It's as hard to get into an "almost-Ivy" now as it was to get into Princeton in the 1970s

Another recent article in the Economist describes how it's as hard to get into an "almost-Ivy" now as it was to get into Princeton in the 1970s.

"Admissions season has just concluded, and it has been another record year. The big four—Harvard, Princeton, Stanford and Yale—all took less than 10% of their applicants for the first time ever. Harvard accepted just 7.1% of those who applied".

This intensity of applications is attributed to "a (peaking) population bump which has increased the college-aged cohort for the past 15 years just as higher percentages of students have decided to enter university. Add to that two other factors: an intensifying obsession with big-name colleges rather than the ones that are cheapest or nearest to home, and the rollout of big new financial-aid packages at the best universities".