<p>I dont know if it seems crazy just because I'm applying or if we have had to endure the toughest college admissions in history. There are so many changes to colleges review/admitting factors that it seems too crazy! I don't know, you guys give me your input!</p>
<p>Yes because the cohort of high school seniors was the largest in U.S. history. This trend will continue for a few more years.</p>
<p>I read in another thread that this is the hardest so far, and the trend will peak for current juniors. It has to do with children of baby boomers.</p>
<p>I read that the most competitive will be the class of 2009, and after that the frenzy will start going down. But part of the reason why it's getting so competitive is that people are applying to more colleges now than in the past. Now some people are applying to as many as 20 colleges, which is just too much. And of course, that's going to make the acceptance percentage much smaller.</p>
<p>I think we'll see how competitive it really is when all the decisions are given out.</p>
<p>I've heard that it's for class of '11, but whichever class it is, it's not us '08er! But we still do have it hard b/c of the above said.</p>
<p>Sweet! I'm class of '10 :P I just miss it lol</p>
<p>Still going to be harder than turing coal into diamonds to get into the top 20 though.</p>
<p>Whatever year is the technical "peak" isn't really going to make that much of a difference for the reason dchow08 cited; people are applying to more colleges, making competition at the top go up regardless.</p>
<p>I don't agree with this, but whatever. The general point is that the next few years will be the most difficult ever in applying to college.</p>
<p>Good insight you guys! We need more responses
** BUMP ** BUMP<strong>BUMP</strong></p>
<p>most difficult year yet? probably. But not the most difficult year to come. Things will really only go up, and in the past, barring major exceptions like wartime, things have only gone up. The only thing that can possibly reverse the trend is some massive backlash against the system, which I don't see happening anytime in the foreseeable future. As the American economy moves almost entirely away from traditional manufacturing, lower-level jobs, not only will the numbers of those applying increase, so to will the stakes.</p>
<p>Here's my FAQ on college admission trends: </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>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>I don't think it will ever get easier.</p>
<p>It just goes up, up and away! :D</p>
<p>colleges accross the board are reporting more applications. yet i look at next years class, they look even more determined</p>
<p>I'm just thinking about how well my kids will do and how the hell I'm going to pay for their college.</p>
<p>A big part of the increase in number of applications per student from my sons hs was due to a search for schools that might offer more fin. aid.</p>
<p>...in another trend, the juniors in my class are idiots...</p>
<p>I read in a NY Times article at the start of college application time, that this year was the biggest number in history for college applicants, factor in the competitiveness, the fact that your income has nothing to do with admissions (for the most part) and you are not only leveling the playing field but these are the ingredients for the most unbelievable year in college admissions to date, so you are part of it class of 2008!! Once you all get into a college, give yourself a big hug because thats quite an accomplishment!</p>
<p>Wait a minute. The Class of 2008 is the one which started college in 2004, right?</p>
<p>i thought the thread starter was talking about people entering university in 2008, highschool graduates of 2008.</p>