<p>A couple days ago I heard a counselor say that the high school class of 2011 is really competitive and that their year will be the hardest to get into college. Has anyone heard about something like this? I am a little bit worried considering that I have noticed the 2011 standards be raised a bit above the preceding years.
Any input/comment is appreciated</p>
<p>I don’t have any data to back this up, but each year it seems to have become increasingly difficult to get into college. For example, this year, many schools had a drastic increase in applications (what was it, 40% more at Chicago?), which obviously results in making it more difficult to be admitted. So I would guess that, yes, it probably will be very competitive.</p>
<p>How could either you or your counselor know what admissions standards will be like 10 months from now?</p>
<p>This looks like a very difficult year to get into a public (and probably private) school. Budget cuts and one of the larger graduating classes is gathering up like the perfect storm. </p>
<p>HOWEVER, it isn’t as bad as some of the numbers suggest. The number of apps is very high, yes. But, you’ll find that people are applying to many more schools than they used to. Just look at the number of admitted students that actually enroll. For the top schools, their “yield” is high. For the rest however, it can be much, much lower. My daughter applied to 10 schools. So far; three acceptances and two rejections. Still waiting on five. </p>
<p>In my day (and that was many days ago) I applied to two schools; one was my dream school and one I knew I could get into. (I was lucky, I got into my dream school.)</p>
<p>May all your dreams come true!</p>
<p>Hmmm…this seems to be a claim made by every graduating class now. The Class of 2009 was supposedly the largest in history. Class of 2010 supposedly the largest number of applications submitted ever, etc. As previous poster said, more students are applying tomore collegs than ever before - in hopes of having a variety of options to choose from and because they want to compare both need-based and merit aid. In the past 3 years, students at my school have gone from an average of 6 apps to an average of 8. the average is actualy misleading because a handful are recruited athletes who only apply to one school. So, taking those out, it is probably closer to 10 apps per student - with many doing 12-13 and a few at or near 20, which is kind of ridiculous. The good news is that the overall results are good - most students have several acceptances already. Don’t worry too much about the overall numbers - just focus on your stats/qualifications - develop a good list of reach,match and safety schools and you will be fine.</p>
<p>Well, a lot of the Baby Boomers of the late 50’s and early to mid 60’s decided to have children in the 90’s. We are the results of a smaller, but still dectable, baby boom.
Ergo all the applications pouring in. '91-'93 was definitely where a lot of Barry White was being purchased and many of our parents were “getting it on” xD …
Sure it’s going to be really competitive…there are more kids out there, and more kids with qualifications.
Competitive? Yes.
Impossible? No.
Agreed with rockvillemom. Focus on your own stats and qualifications. You’ll get into a four-year somewhere. :)</p>
<p>[www.NASFAA.org</a> Study: Number of High School Grads Expected to Peak in 2008-2009](<a href=“http://www.nasfaa.org/publications/2004/rnhsgradstudy013004.html]www.NASFAA.org”>http://www.nasfaa.org/publications/2004/rnhsgradstudy013004.html)</p>
<p>[How</a> many students in the United States graduate high school in the class of 09?](<a href=“http://askville.amazon.com/students-United-States-graduate-high-school-class-09/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=12536328]How”>http://askville.amazon.com/students-United-States-graduate-high-school-class-09/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=12536328)</p>
<p>looks like 2008-2009 peaked</p>
<p>The Class of 2009 was the largest ever. The Class of 2010 is smaller, but we’re applying to more schools. XD</p>
<p>OP: Of course you mean the colleges of your choice right? There’s no shortage of space at American colleges as a whole.</p>
<p>Excellent point, and one that we try to reinforce at our school all the time. Competition is very intense for the top 20-30 schools. Look beyond that - and opportunities are plentiful. The craziness is perpetuated because of the perception that if you don’t go to an Ivy League school, or some place in the range of Tufts, Duke, Vanderbilt, etc, that you have failed, and it simply is not true.</p>
<p>Here’s my old FAQ on the issue from a few years ago: </p>
<p>DEMOGRAPHICS</p>
<p>Population trends in the United States are not the only issue influencing the competitiveness of college admission here. The children already born show us what the expected number of high school students are in various years, but the number of high school students in the United States, which is expected to begin declining in a few years, isn’t the whole story.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/09/ed...nted=2&_r=1&hp[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/09/ed...nted=2&_r=1&hp</a></p>
<p>First of all, if more students who begin high school go on to college, there will be more applicants to college even with a declining number of high school students. And that is the trend in the United States and worldwide.</p>
<p>Second, colleges in the United States accept applications from all over the world, so it is quite possible that demographic trends in the United States will not be the main influence on how many students apply to college. The cohorts of high-school-age students are still increasing in size in some countries (NOT most of Europe).</p>
<p>Third, even if the number of applicants to colleges overall stays the same, or even declines, the number of applicants to the most competitive colleges may still increase. The trend around the world is a “flight to quality” of students trying to get into the best college they can in increasing numbers, and increasing their consensus about which colleges to put at the top of their application lists. I do not expect college admission to be any easier for my youngest child than for my oldest child, even though she is part of a smaller birth cohort in the United States.</p>
<p>And now I would add to this that at the very most selective colleges that have just announced new financial aid plans, next year’s (and the following year’s) crush of applicants will be larger than ever. When colleges that are already acknowledged to be great colleges start reducing their net cost down to what the majority of families in the United States can afford, those colleges will receive more applications from all parts of the United States, and very likely from all over the world. </p>
<p>See also </p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/849181-applications-growth-class-2014-a.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/849181-applications-growth-class-2014-a.html</a> </p>
<p>Good luck in your applications. Choose your application list carefully and be sure to include a safety.</p>