<p>Much has been written about the record setting pace of college applications this year. With the demographic trend of a growing number of high school graduates applying to an increasing number of colleges using the more widely accepted common application, most universities are overwhelmed with the amount of applications received by their office of admissions. The elimination of early decision and early action at some schools has contributed to the influx. Some of the numbers are dizzying.</p>
<p>At the high end, over the past two years (January 2006 to January 2008) both Tulane and RPI have experienced a more than 60% increase in the number of applications they received. The problem was so acute for Tulane this year they stopped taking applications at the January 15th deadline. </p>
<p>While this two year growth rate at Tulane may be impacted by the after-effects of Hurricane Katrina, the five year growth rate is not. Over the past five years (January 2003 to January 2008) Tulane and RPI again top the list with application increases of 141% and 113%, respectively.</p>
<p>These schools are followed by Northwestern and Vanderbilt, each with two year growth rates of over 35%, while the eight Ivy League schools averaged an application increase of 16% for the two year period.</p>
<p>One school not benefiting from this national trend in application growth, however, has been Washington University. For the past two years Wash U hasnt experienced any application growth and in fact their applications this year dropped 1% from the level of two years ago. Their lack of growth has also persisted for the 5 year period. While the Ivies experienced 36% growth in applications since January 2003, Wash U has only seen an increase of 8%. </p>
<p>Wash U is known for their marketing prowess, sending glossy brochures and post cards to thousands of high school students. Theyve been the most successful school to climb the US News and World Report rankings over the past 20 years and have shown the most significant gains in average SAT scores during that period. </p>
<p>Whatever they did to improve their national profile doesnt seem to be working anymore. Recent trends suggest that perhaps they should employ a new strategy.</p>
<p>Have RPI and Tulane actively marketed for very long? I know they were certainly two of the most aggressive for the past few years because they send t-shirts and music CDs to high schoolers. Tulane also gives just about every one a free application while RPI sent me one that didn’t require an essay.</p>
<p>Perhaps the problem is that WashU marketed so early on and so effectively they have reached their campaign’s ceiling.</p>
<p>A school obsessed with yield isn’t always the most preferable. Many top juniors in my school are reconsidering applying to WashU due to yield protection.</p>
<p>Every university mentioned here increased the number of student admitted class after class, Wash U had to decrease that number due to the unexpected higher number of those enrolled in the class of 2010 by almost 200 and cut in half the number of full and half tuition merit scholarships (Engineering form 32 to 8 was the most dramatic change). Although, the number of transfers application is on the rise and the acceptance is less than 8%.</p>
<p>“Every university mentioned here increased the number of student admitted class after class, Wash U had to decrease that number due to the unexpected higher number of those enrolled in the class of 2010 by almost 200”</p>
<p>Don’t be ridiculous. WashU plays the stats manipulation game worse than anyone I’ve ever heard of (show me their CDS). They cut their class size so they could drop their acceptance rate despite not having their applicant pool grow. The school is a joke I know plenty of other people that got into HYP and waitlisted at WashU because they’re so worried about yield. It’s pathetic.</p>
<p>Way to go newhere - same old misinformation about scholarships. Total number of merit scholarships has not been reduced at WashU. Engineering was reduced, but not the total number of all merit scholarships. I had previously asked you to provide proof of your statement, which you never bothered to do. Please stop posting unsubstantiated info.</p>
<p>Additionally, as a student at WashU I can tell you that they did not expect so many kids to actually accept their letters and housing has been a squeeze (meaning you may not get to live with who you want, housing is still guaranteed). Enrollment has gone up the last few years and is currently around 7 thousand (undergrad, about the same grad).</p>