If you admit 84% of people, but also feel like many people who you would like to have are turned off by the perception of a high admissions bar, wouldn’t it make sense to admit everyone (or have a default-admit policy that you stray from only in cases of extreme poor culture fit)?
I won’t quite say “worst case scenario is that there are an extra 16% of people there who you don’t like”, because the worst case scenario is that the marginal applicant lured in by the lack of an admissions bar is much worse than the current applicant pool, but it seems like something like that could be true (ie it doesn’t seem like there’s currently a large pool of unqualified applicants who it would overwhelm the conference to let in).
Well said. Most business conferences are willing to accept anyone who is motivated to attend and pay the requisite fee. Why does EA appear to insist upon making the bar seem so high and exclusive, in that applicants need to be examined and judged in advance, with answers needing to comply with such a precise format? It seems strange that EA wants to try to keep people out but also is worried about falling numbers. If EA wants to increase attendance, simply make it easier to apply! This would certainly encourage me to apply, attend and contribute again, rather than feel I have to jump through hoops and maybe waste my time doing so, each time.
The acceptance rate being 84% makes me think that most admittees could be admitted using a less time-consuming application process. Maybe there could be some criteria that would allow someone to submit an abbreviated application if done by an early deadline, and receive either an admission or a request to submit the full application by the final deadline?
If you admit 84% of people, but also feel like many people who you would like to have are turned off by the perception of a high admissions bar, wouldn’t it make sense to admit everyone (or have a default-admit policy that you stray from only in cases of extreme poor culture fit)?
I won’t quite say “worst case scenario is that there are an extra 16% of people there who you don’t like”, because the worst case scenario is that the marginal applicant lured in by the lack of an admissions bar is much worse than the current applicant pool, but it seems like something like that could be true (ie it doesn’t seem like there’s currently a large pool of unqualified applicants who it would overwhelm the conference to let in).
Well said. Most business conferences are willing to accept anyone who is motivated to attend and pay the requisite fee. Why does EA appear to insist upon making the bar seem so high and exclusive, in that applicants need to be examined and judged in advance, with answers needing to comply with such a precise format? It seems strange that EA wants to try to keep people out but also is worried about falling numbers. If EA wants to increase attendance, simply make it easier to apply! This would certainly encourage me to apply, attend and contribute again, rather than feel I have to jump through hoops and maybe waste my time doing so, each time.
The acceptance rate being 84% makes me think that most admittees could be admitted using a less time-consuming application process. Maybe there could be some criteria that would allow someone to submit an abbreviated application if done by an early deadline, and receive either an admission or a request to submit the full application by the final deadline?