This article notes a +25% increase in applications at Bowdoin, and a +14% increase at Midd. Another thread pointed to +10% at Hamilton. I bet other LACS are seeing this too. Going to be a tough year
http://bowdoinorient.com/2018/01/26/number-of-applications-hits-all-time-high/
i wonder how the top ten—and even top twenty—liberal arts colleges have fared this cycle.
Not a LAC, but just saw in another thread that Ga Tech was +13%
Wesleyan posted >12,000 applicants for the third year in a row. Not an explosive leap over last year, but, just enough to put to rest conjecture over whether it was sustainable or just a one-time fluke.
@wisteria100, that’s a crazy increase at Bowdoin, which likely means an Overall Acceptance Rate of 11% and an RD Acceptance Rate of 8%.
I also saw that NYU had a +12% increase, which is kind of incredible, because that means about 8,000 additional apps for a total over 75,000.
The Orient appears to be in error with respect to Middlebury’s figures. MIddlebury’s CDS indicates they received 8909 applicants for the class of 2021 (materially confirmed here: http://www.middlebury.edu/newsroom/archive/2017-news/node/546351), not 8109 as the article reports. This converts to a fairly modest 3.6% increase in applications for Middlebury’s class of 2022. Further examples may be needed, then, in order to determine whether, beyond Bowdoin and Hamilton, strong trends have this year favored NESCACs, or LACs in general, as a group.
@merc81, good catch as it looks like a transposition error in the Orient article. Unfortunately, we don’t yet have the Bowdoin 2017-2018 CDS to confirm Bowdoin’s increase either.
^^The Orient number matches the admission statistics on the Bowdoin website, so likely correct. But you’re right that sometimes the CDS shows up and shows numbers that don’t match in a variety of categories.
Meant, Middlebury’s application totals don’t match in PR as compared to CDS.
Up 45% at Bates. The school got rid of their supplemental essay, which many applicants had found onerous. It asked students to dissect a section of the school’s mission statement so it was impossible to repurpose a “why us” essay from another school.
Bowdoin eliminated the application fee for students applying for FA and first gens.
This from Middlebury, confirms an increase of 3.6% over last year (not 14%):
http://www.middlebury.edu/newsroom/archive/2018-news/node/563076
Are there stats that show if the average number of college applications per student is Increasing? In other words, we know there aren’t more students overall, so is an increase like this due to students rotating from applying to other schools, or are students adding new additional schools to their list and increasing their total number of applications?
If you take the athlete recruits out of the picture, it is more difficult to get into these schools than Tufts, Cornell, UMich, UVA. UNC (CH), WashU, Emory// etc etc/ - Complete insanity.
Re #13, In order to draw inferences as to whether recent changes may be mostly school dependent or, in contrast, trend dependent, it might be informative to look at ED (particularly ED1) and RD applications separately.
@Mickey2Dad : By common statistical standards, NESCACs have typically been strongly represented when compared to the most highly selective schools of all types. This list is from a few years ago:
http://www.businessinsider.com/the-610-smartest-colleges-in-america-2015-9
Business Insider repeated the top-50 ranking in 2016 http://www.businessinsider.com/the-50-smartest-colleges-in-america-2016-10.
As expected, the list has included the same general list for many years - here’s CC posting ranks schools by SAT score in 1966 http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/355053-college-rankings-from-1966.html
Bowdoin eliminated application fees on or before the Class of 2021, so don’t believe that was material to the increase for the Class of 2022 unless that is combined with the new USNWR #3 ranking as that put Bowdoin on the USNWR home page.
Another NESCAC school breaking a record: Williams told alumni in a group phone call that they have a record number of applications this year, around 10,000.
@Mickey2Dad #14: when you say “these schools,” are you referring to the NESCAC? Because Tufts is in the NESCAC.