Applications Up! Applications Down! Which is it?

The swirling cross currents of the economy and college applications in 2009 continues.

Last week I reported that four selective colleges that I watch (a couple to which Greg has applied) were reporting record applications this year, including a 20% increase at Stanford. A California mom commented that she had noticed the same thing at other selective colleges.

But Bloomberg reports today that seven of the eight top liberal arts colleges posted application declines this year, including a 20% drop at Williams. The main culprit -- the poor economy and the high tuitions at these schools. Of course later the article reports that all of the Ivy League schools reported increases in (& probably record) applications. I guess their high tuitions are worth more than the small liberal arts schools!

One additional piece of evidence supporting the 'poor economy = frugality in college applications' is this article from the Atlanta Journal Constitution that reports record applications for Georgia state schools. The primary explanation? Kids staying closer to home and taking advantage of Georgia's generous Hope Scholarship.

So it seems to me like the top tier schools are still in high demand, but everywhere else poor economy is having an impact, both up and down. This is a helpful turn of events if you're applying to schools with declining applications -- assuming you can afford them.