<p>[Brown’s</a> Undergraduate Applications Increase to Record 31,000 - BusinessWeek](<a href=“http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-01-18/brown-s-undergraduate-applications-increase-to-record-31-000.html]Brown’s”>Bloomberg - Are you a robot?)</p>
<p>Now I really really doubt i’ll get into any of my top schools… It’s just ridiculous.</p>
<p>^ agreed. these numbers are all really frightening</p>
<p>Remember that the rise in numbers can be attributed in part to aggressive recruiting. Some target groups include URMs, students from low-income backgrounds, and internationals. These candidates might not have considered applying to an elite university, either because they thought they couldn’t afford it, didn’t stand a chance, or, in some cases, hadn’t heard of it. On the other hand, Brown (among other schools) are mailing everyone everywhere invitations to apply. Plenty of people who are very unlikely to be accepted receive brochures every year, not because the schools are interested in their applications, but because they want to up their numbers and lower their acceptance rates.</p>
<p>Sure, it’s harder to get in than it was a couple of years ago, and certainly more challenging than it was when we were born, but if you’re a qualified candidate (which most people on this board seem to be), then your chances aren’t necessarily as bad as the numbers make it out to be. A lot of people are applying because they can, and they’ll never know if they don’t. </p>
<p>The adoption of the Common App also contributes to the increase in applications. Even with supplements, it’s easier to apply to ten schools through one application system than to fill out ten separate applications.</p>
<p>read closely. domestic applications seem almost unchanged. international apps are the ones that have contributed mostly to the rise of 2% in apps, i think</p>
<p>Point taken, but the numbers themselves do not necessarily account for the demographics of applicants. I don’t have exact figures, but middle class students are starting to drift from top schools given that financial aid is being slashed at their expense (see recent articles in the NYT regarding Yale’s new policies). I’m just saying that the applicant pool looks different than it used to.</p>
<p>I think the Common App was part of it — this is the first year Brown went to it.</p>
<p>Also, B has been recruiting in China.</p>
<p>This is not the first year Brown used the common app.</p>
<p>^Yea, it’s been a few years now–three or four.</p>
<p>OK, first year they dumped paper</p>
<p>The number of apps increased by 20% last year. This year the increase is 3-4% over last year.
Considering how easy it is to submit another application to one more university via commonapp.org (granted, one would have to do additional essays for schools like Brown, but still …), the increase is not that much.
On another note, it is possible that the chances for domestic applicants will be even lower this year as Brown plans to recruit more foreign nationals. They would need brand champions in India and China as they plan to collaborate with universities over there or even start own campuses in those countries.
The desire to recruite more URM means even fewer chances for traditional domestic applicants especially for non-URM minorities from within US - Indians, Pakistanis, Asians etc.
Well, it is what it is.</p>