In 2012 the competition for admission to top-tier colleges and universities was once again fierce. Ivy League colleges admitted in the single digits. Harvard accepted just 5.9 % of applicants and Yale just 7.3%. Other top private universities like Stanford admitted just 6.6%, and top-tier national liberal arts colleges like Amherst admitted just 11.9 %. Closer to home, Pitzer College was noted as among the top twenty most selective colleges in the U.S. with an admit rate of just 15.7%.

Beyond these well-known private universities the competition continued. Even flagship public universities such as UC Berkeley dropped below a 20% admit rate for the first time in history.

Yet, even with this vexing math, Webb’s Class of 2012 did astonishingly well.

This year 95% percent of the Class of 2012 will attend a college ranked in the top 10% in the nation (based on data from U.S. News & World Report on 1600 accredited 4-year colleges and universities in the U.S.). On average each Webb senior received an acceptance letter from nearly 5 of 8 colleges applied to (nearly a 62% acceptance rate). And some 44% percent of Webb students (47) will attend college in the East, 35% (38) in the West, 11% (12) in the South, 8% (9) in the Mid-West, and 2% (2) will attend college abroad.

Buried within these numbers is yet another powerful story, connected to the young women of Vivian Webb School. According to Hector Martinez, Director of College Counseling, women’s colleges were once again a popular choice. “We had another record breaking year. We had 28 girls (or 51% of the class) apply to women’s colleges and 75% were admitted. A remarkable 24% of this class will join a women’s college in the fall. Vivian Webb continues to lead the way as one of the top ‘feeder’ schools to America’s most prestigious women’s colleges. In fact, over the past 10 years VWS has averaged a matriculation rate to women’s colleges of 20%.”

What’s so great about women’s colleges? Alumnae from these institutions continue to be among the best and brightest leaders in nearly every field of endeavor. As many already know, among their graduates is the first female Secretary of State (Madeleine Albright), the first female winner of the Nobel Prize in literature (Pearl S. Buck), the first female Rhodes Scholar (Ila Burdett), the first female U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations (Jeane Kirkpatrick), the first female neurosurgeon (Dorothy Klenke), and on and on. It has also been noted that some 30% of congresswomen and 20% of female CEOs attended a women’s college.

Is there good news for just about everybody? Well, yes. Exactly 100% of Webb graduates were accepted to a selective four-year college or university. Exactly no one can argue with that.

Below are more college admission numbers by school:

Webb School of California

** 53 boys filed 409 applications to 132 colleges and received 252 acceptances (62% admit rate).

** On average each boy applied to 8 colleges and was admitted to 5.

** 60% (32 boys) applied to the University of California system and 91% (29 boys) were admitted.

** 41% (22 boys) applied to the Ivy League, Stanford, Cal Tech and MIT, 23% (5 boys) were admitted.

** 96% (51 boys) applied to a top tier college/university and 90% (46 boys) were admitted.

** 77% (41 boys) were admitted to at least one of their top choice colleges.

** 100% of the class was admitted to a selective four-year college.

Vivian Webb School

** 55 girls filed 422 applications to 141 colleges and received 267 acceptances (63% admit rate).

** Each girl applied to an average to 8 colleges and were admitted to 5.

** 53% (29 girls) applied to the University of California system and 93% (27 girls) were admitted.

** 44% (24 girls) applied to the Ivy League, Stanford, Cal Tech, and MIT, 25% (6 girls) were admitted.

** 95% (52 girls) applied to a top tier college/university and 89% (46 girls) were admitted.

** 51% of class) applied to a Women’s College and 75% (21 girls) were admitted.

** 24% of the class (13 girls) will attend a Women’s College.

** 84% (46 girls) were admitted to one of their top choice colleges.

** 100% of the class was admitted to a selective four-year college.

Click here to see the acceptance and matriculation reports.