<p>I was just wondering if the increase in applicants to schools like Stanford and HYP and UChicago (Chicago?s</a> 42% Applicant Jump to Aid Harvard Rivalry (Update1) - BusinessWeek) is because of an increasing number of high school graduates, or if it's because kids are getting a lot smarter or both.</p>
<p>My sister got into Stanford in 2003 and was salutatorian in our school without any particularly special extracurriculars. Whenever I read the REA threads though, it seems that kids (who had the same stats as my sister, or even better) are being rejected... It scares me, and I still have two more years of high school. :( Not to mention Stanford had about 6000 more applicants than last year.</p>
<p>Does anyone know where I might be able to find estimated stats on graduating high school class sizes for 2012? I'm kind of hoping that my class nationally is smaller... and stupider... But it doesn't seem that way for my school (the kids in my class are pretty smart compared to the class a year above and below us).</p>
<p>I'm first so far in a class of 290-some, but since I'm still only a sophomore, it can change easily. Plus I seem like any other cookie-cutter kid almost... sigh. college.</p>
<p>I think that there are many factors that lead to the increase in admissions to ivies and top 20 schools: ( no particular order)</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Prestige- No matter what an HYP applicant SAYS, prestige will always be a factor ( small or large) for applicants. I think UChicago’s huge increase was in part due to its top ten status in the US ranking. I feel like rankings have become more important to students than 10 years ago.</p></li>
<li><p>Financial Aid- As more students and their parents learn about the financial aid that these schools give, people are aware that a top education doesn’t cost top dollars anymore. Many people will pay nothing, and this definitely attracts more students as they understand that money will not prevent them from getting in.</p></li>
<li><p>More people- Like you said, I think that there are more high school seniors therefore more who apply to top schools</p></li>
<li><p>No chance students- I feel like more and more students apply JUST to see if they can get in. I know many people with extremely low stats who are applying just for the heck of it. </p></li>
<li><p>Diversity - The ivy league has tried to escape the white, preppy stereotype that people used to associate with the ivies by introducing AA. Now that more URMS know they have a better chance of getting in and the population isn’t so homogenous, I think more are applying.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>These are just some things that I think contribute to the increase of applicants, but I don’t think its because people are just smarter know than before.</p>
<p>I agree with the previous comments. I think the three biggest factors are (1) the trend to use the common application which makes it easier to apply to more colleges, (2) the word getting out that schools like Stanford give minorities and low income applicants special consideration for overcoming obstacles and (3) improved financial aid for low and middle income applicants.</p>
<p>I would think that since the economy is bad less people would be applying! oh no!</p>
<p>I think what a bad economy means, is that people are more likely to look for financial aid, and would be more likely to make a decision based on that. Which goes back to the whole thing that more people are realizing that these top schools are often the ones with the best financial aid packages…</p>