In its 2023 School Hopes and Worries survey, The Princeton Evaluation polled 12,225 folks throughout all 50 states and Washington D.C.—72% of whom have been highschool college students making use of to school, and the opposite 28% being dad and mom of school candidates.

The survey discovered that the college most excessive schoolers dreamed of attending wasn’t an Ivy League college—though it was a globally prestigious faculty.

Massachusetts Institute of Expertise (MIT) was the primary decide among the many scholar respondents, with Stanford, Harvard, NYU and UCLA rounding out the highest 5.

MIT is often ranked as top-of-the-line universities within the nation, with Forbes naming it America’s prime faculty for the primary time in 2022.

Dad and mom, nevertheless, favored Princeton, the survey discovered, with Harvard and Stanford coming in second and third place respectively. MIT was the fifth hottest faculty among the many 3,423 dad and mom who took half within the examine.

Whereas securing a spot at MIT was the dream of most college students within the ballot, the college is notoriously tough to get into.

For the category of 2026, MIT acquired virtually 34,000 purposes—and fewer than 4% have been profitable.

College students hoping to safe a spot at MIT even have to realize distinctive take a look at scores.

These admitted to MIT’s class of 2026 achieved a median rating between 790 and 800 for SAT Math, whereas median ACT scores have been round 35 throughout the board.

It’s additionally one among America’s priciest schools to attend, with tuition, charges and fundamental residing prices coming in at round $70,000 in only one 12 months.

Though many excessive schoolers will dream about attending faculty forward of Nationwide Choice Day in Could, faculty enrollment has plummeted in recent times, dropping 8% between 2019 to 2022, in keeping with information from the Nationwide Pupil Clearinghouse.

Economists have warned fewer faculty graduates may exacerbate labor shortages being felt in varied sectors.

Nevertheless, with the price of increased schooling and the ensuing scholar debt remaining a turn-off for a lot of potential college students, many Gen Zers are questioning whether or not getting a level is price it.

The debt burden is particularly heavy for debtors who’re nonwhite, low-income, and girls, a latest examine discovered—and the price of a university diploma could possibly be undoing the American dream.