Harvard Rejections Multiply as Misery Finds Plenty of Company Don't Miss Out

Bloomberg reports:

Ivy League colleges once again disappointed tens of thousands of teenagers as they accepted a lower percentage than ever -- even as they encouraged more to apply.

Harvard University said it accepted a record-low 5.3 percent of hopefuls after attracting 37,307 applicants as it heightened recruiting with a new social-media campaign. The previous year, the figure was 5.9 percent. The admission rates for the seven other Ivies, which told students their verdicts Tuesday, ranged from 6.1 percent at Columbia to 14.9 percent at Cornell.

Stanford, on the West coast and far from the eastern Ivies, surpassed them all for a second year. It reported Friday that it had admitted 5 percent.

The competition for top slots shows no sign of abating as students seek prestige as well as financial-aid packages that tend to be more generous at these wealthy schools. High school guidance counselors pointed to the near-absurdity of the low numbers, considering the quality of many applicants.

Has Harvard engaged in "false and deceptive " advertising by encouraging students to apply to college when they clearly knew they wouldn't get in?