The rise of “vibe schools”: How families are redefining prestige in US college admissions

The scramble for college seats has never been more unforgiving. Acceptance rates at Ivy League and other hyper-selective institutions hover at historic lows, making the admissions process less a meritocratic climb and more a lottery of timing, privilege, and luck. In this climate, families are quietly rewriting their playbook. Instead of chasing only single-digit admit rates, they are expanding their sights toward a different class of colleges, schools that marry academic strength with something harder to articulate: Cultural resonance. The phrase I use is “vibe schools.” They are places where atmosphere, lifestyle, and identity hold equal weight to academic reputation. It is not enough anymore for a college to churn out Fulbright Scholars or Rhodes winners; families want institutions