Overall prospects for next year?

Applying to College
1

<p>Well, I remember last year everyone was saying how college admissions were going to be a lot tougher this year, because of the increased numbers of applicants. (Baby boom, and people naturally wanting to go to the more selective colleges). If my school is representative, that prediction was quite true.</p>

<p>What will happen next year? Harder still as people continue to flock to the top colleges? Or will it ease off as we pass the baby boom generation? Analysis, thoughts, predictions, anyone?</p>

2

<p>I would say similar difficulty. It’s hard to pick exactly ONE CLASS and call it the baby boomer’s childrens’ generation. I think with the increase in students colleges will expand a little bit in preparation. In a few years the size of applicants should decrease slightly giving that class a unique opportunity to enjoy the capital invested in during our generation.</p>

3

<p>I’ve heard similar. When do you think this “decrease” will start?</p>

4

<p>Next year. Statistically the class of 2009 is the peak, with the class of 2008 being very close. Class of 2010 is smaller.</p>

5

<p>It’s time for the FAQ again: </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><a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/09/education/09admissions.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&hp[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/09/education/09admissions.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&hp&lt;/a&gt; </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>The Economist magazine published a brief article about these trends in April 2008. </p>

<p>[University</a> admissions in America | Accepted | The Economist](<a href=“Accepted”>Accepted)</p>