College Applications on the Rise for Class of 2014

Provided by: Lauren Kahn, M.A. from Lone Star Ed Consulting, LLC 512-294-6608


USA Today reports, "College applicants are facing one of the toughest years ever to gain admission to the nation's public colleges and universities as schools grapple with deep budget cuts and record numbers of applications. As cash-poor state governments slash budgets, colleges are capping or cutting enrollment despite a
surge in applications from high school seniors, community college students and unemployed workers returning to school." 

It is a real issue for public schools this year. As I suspected earlier this year, private schools will still be selective, but will not have the necessary reduction in enrollment numbers that public schools do. The 10-campus University of California reduced enrollment of California-resident freshmen by 6%, or about 2,300 students, and is expected to shrink enrollment further this year even as a record number of applicants applied for admission for the fall of 2010, said Nina Robinson, UC director of student policy. (USA Today.com)

Nancy Greisemer, College Explorations Consultant, reports there are double-digit increases in applications all over the country. The number of students competing for spots in the class of 2014 is up by 28 percent for the California State University system, 25 percent at the University of Hawaii Manoa, 21 percent at UC Merced, 20 percent at Brown, 19 percent at Princeton, 18 percent at DePauw (and still counting), 11 percent at Duke, and 10 percent at the University of Notre Dame.

Other recently-released numbers include:

• Harvard: +5%
• Dartmouth: +4%
• Cal Poly: +12.1%
• University of California Santa Barbara: +7.7%
• University of California Davis: +6.5% (transfers +26%)
• University of California Santa Cruz: +5.4%
• University of California San Diego: +2.3%
• Northwestern University: +7%
• University of Illinois Urban Champaign: +3%

Although final numbers have not been released by area colleges, early admissions figures suggested similar increases are in store locally. Early Decision applications were up by 46 percent at American University, 24 percent at George Washington, 15 percent at the College of William and Mary, and 10 percent at Johns Hopkins. Nonbinding Early Action (EA) applicants increased by 18 percent at Georgetown and by 13 percent at Howard University. Therefore, do not be devastated if you were deferred or denied admission during the early action / early decision process.

As of December 1st, applications filed through the Common Application system were up by 24 percent over the same time last year.

Schools have moved up some of their deadlines, so this could be one of the reasons for the rise in early applications. However, only time will tell the complete picture for this peculiar application season, which entails economic hardship, an increase in students wishing to attend college, and a mandatory reduction in enrollment numbers for several public universities.

The information was provided by Lauren Kahn, CEO of Lone Star Ed Consulting. If you would like more information about Lone Star Ed Consulting's college planning services, please e-mail Lauren Kahn or call her at 512-294-6608. You can also view LSEDC's brochure here.





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