<p>We all know last year had the largest number of college applicants in history. How is that expected to change for this year (and the years following)? Will the numbers go down, will they go up?</p>
<p>I think the numbers will go up.</p>
<p>will they really? digging around, i think i saw that they will be slightly below last years, but not by much. can anyone verify this?</p>
<p>The prediction that the number of applicants will decline is based on the population rates. However, with the increased commitment to generous financial aid by the top Ivys, those numbers will probably continue to rise.</p>
<p>^ Financial policy changes at top Ivies may encourage more college applicants to apply to them, but it should not cause the total number of college applicants to grow. The only relevant (but very small) factor may be the pool of internationals, but most Ivies would have them pay full freight for undergrad anyway.</p>
<p>I think as more families are unsure about F/A packages and their own finances, more apps will be sent to more safeties, especially financial safeties.</p>
<p>I also think that with the financial situation of many families, in addition to the financial safeties mentioned by mom, it’s also possible that students may look into other alternatives, such as attending community colleges. I know a few students who are taking this route.</p>
<p>Here in California, it’s going to be a real crunch of applicants to our state schools, and the admissions #s are expected to go down for instate applicants as the schools actively recruit OOS students. Consequently my S is applying to OTHER state’s universities, which will probably be looking for students like him, who are willing to pay full tuition to attend a state school as an OOS student. It is a real mess, in my opinion. I agree that many will be taking the community college route for financial reasons.</p>
<p>Paperchasepop- Yes, I meant the number of top IVY applicants will continue to grow. Not the entire college applicant population.</p>
<p>Yikes, I hope we don’t see the same kind of results at ivies as last year. o__o</p>