2009, A Record Year for Select College Applications?
This is an admittedly unscientific sample, but it seems like the selective colleges have received a record number of applications this year -- and in some cases have blown away the prior records (which were probably set last year). To wit:- Stanford reports an increase of 20% over last year, an all time high, and anticipates a 7.5% acceptance rate
- MIT's applications grew by 2,000 to 15,600, a new record.
- UVA reports "...that applications went up dramatically this year (we're up over 22,000 applications), probably due to our move to the Common App"
- Vanderbilt has "...received a total of 19,244 applications for the Vanderbilt entering class of 2009, the most ever received at Vanderbilt"
In UVA's case adopting the Common App had an impact. There's also the 'baby boom echo' effect. This is the peak year for high school graduates from baby boomer parents. So, lots of ambitious seniors applying for a fixed number of slots in the selective schools. But I'm scratching my head how these two factors, in the midst of the worst recession since the '30's, lead to a 20% increase in applications at Stanford (which has been using the Common Application for awhile).
If you have any theories on why this is, please leave them in the comments.
Have you heard any other 'record applications' stories. Please leave those in the comments as well.
Labels: college applications, common app, common application, stanford, UVA, Vanderbilt
posted by Matt Cobb at 10:05 PM
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3 Comments:
I am the mom of 2 high school daughters, a senior and a junior, who attend a private college prep school in California. We have noticed the same increase in applications to selective private colleges. Why? Besides the obvious demographics, many like us may have calculated that in the current recession, our lack of need for financial aid may have increased our student's odds at a private college. Another factor in California is the bad news about cuts in funding at the University of California, and resulting concerns about educational quality. As for Stanford, remember that a large percentage of their admits are legacies or children of faculty. This makes it nearly impossible for those who lack connections, and may encourage those who have connections--after all, the number of legacies and faculty offspring would increase exponentially each year.
Thanks caligal. To add to your point on the Stanford legacies... I recently saw a letter from Stanford Admissions recently that pegged the acceptance rate for legacies at twice that of the rest of the applicant pool.
thank you so much! I’m applying to schools now (before the nov 1st early app deadline) and have also used AcceptEdge to match my profile to schools that would be a good fit for me. could help some of you guys too..
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