<p>Thought this was interesting in light of ongoing conversations about college advocacy. A few years ago MIT, for instance, had abut 13,000 applicants. This year I know understand why we got urgent please to interview more students. BU is up to 52,000+ applicants to screen.</p>
<p>Forewarned is forearmed.</p>
<p>Interesting and informative article as I needed something to temporarily satisfy my anticipation during this lull. Confidence is better than average.</p>
<p>I’ve heard from friends for some time that BC was emphasizing their selectivity to parents. I’m not certain if this was in college information sessions, or alumni gatherings–my friends could have attended either or both. I know a fair number of families for whom BC is the Dream School, so this topic comes up.</p>
<p>I don’t think “more is better” when it comes to college applicants, particularly when the college knows many students are applying to schools as “safeties.” The supplemental essays don’t seem to be a huge barrier to admission; I think most students could retool essays written for other schools, if they were seriously interested in BC. If they weren’t seriously interested in BC, they wouldn’t be likely to enroll if they were accepted by a college they liked better.</p>
<p>Agreed.</p>
<p>I wonder why colleges are surprised by the jump given the increasingly ubiquitous nature of the common apps. However those supplements were a “bear” and a half. We saw the complexity for what it was - an attempt to discourage students from apply - especially those who wait until after finals to finish up their applications. It wasn’t possible for my D to retool her essays for each college - that’s how diverse they were this year. Some started with long philosophical preambles that then asked students to expound on a similar experience.</p>
<p>Didn’t Williams College do the same thing some years ago, i.e., added a supplemental essay which led to fewer completed applications? I seem to remember that, but can’t find it in a quick Google.</p>
<p>I don’t think they’re surprised by the jump. There’s a balance between not discouraging anyone from applying, and trying to admit students who will show up in the fall. I feel that there’s an optimal relationship between spots available and applicants. Beyond a certain point, it’s not possible to carefully select the most interesting class (in my opinion, which others can criticize.)</p>
<p>The only way to handle this as a family is to start talking and thinking about college early. The end of sophomore year, perhaps? At any rate, work it back so that the kid could apply to an early round, should he desire. So, think about colleges and visit colleges before the fall of senior year. Don’t be in the position of frantically throwing together applications to colleges you haven’t visited on December 31st. Don’t waste an application on a college without a major in journalism, if you’re the editor of the school paper, and want to work for ABC news.</p>
<p>USNWR, in determining their college rankings, should get rid of admission rate as a metric. A lot of colleges game the rankings by deliberately soliciting more applicants just so they can reject them, to boost their appearance of selectivity. </p>
<p>Kudos to BU for refusing to play the game!</p>