<p>Boston College just saw a 26% drop in the number of applications this year, because they added an extra required essay that is specific to BC. Does that mean the quality of their students or program went down? Absolutely not. It means the kids who applied to BC were actually truly interested in attending there, and the admissions reps had more time to devote to each application. I have no idea what it will do to their USNWR ranking, but I don’t think BC is terribly worried about it.</p>