50k applications x a $75 application fee is 3,750,000 !!! Just in application fees. Then look at UF who then charges a non refundable $25 housing application fee BEFORE you are even accepted. College application process is nothing short of a business lol. And again, there is no way colleges are looking at every one of those applications with a fine tooth comb.
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Thatâs fair - I know we got waivers, etc. to a lot - for doing a visit (helping the local economy), online info session. But your point is fair - perhaps thatâs where the staff funding comes from.
The schools say they read them all but I agree - there has to be numerical cutoffs that earn barely a look b4 they are tossed.
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I think schools enjoy the money that thousands of kids applying to 15 schools brings in. My kid started with about 6 schools they were interested (UMD, UF, UGA, Clemson, UNC, FSU) ending up not applying to UNC and FSU, but adding Rutgers (state), USC, UTK. When they were deferred I told kid to pick some more schools and ended up adding Ole Miss, Miss State and LSU. Going to visit all of them soon, kid will pick one because that is the type of school they want, and I will be happy because I already have substantial scholarships in the bag.
I feel really bad for kids who had great stats that really wanted a certain school and had they applied a couple years ago would have gotten in. Because EA does not mean EA and you have no decision until March, kids just keep adding colleges and applying to more.
Iâm a fan of making EA a kind of hybrid ED like private schools have. You can apply to as many as you want EA without committing, but if you are accepted, school has to notify you with the acceptance what sort of aid/merit you are getting, and you need to commit or decline in a month. That way colleges know how many spots they have filled and how much money they have committed and can start rolling out decisions before March.
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Well either he and his father are lying or it is true.
And USC is completely crazy for inviting kids to apply to Honors College, emailing them constantly about doing the HC, texting them ever day for a week before HC application was due, and even calling them the day before to remind themâŠâŠ and then deferring that kid to RD and then waitlisting them.
How many other kids got the same communications, thought they were in and maybe didnât apply to other schools because USC was their top choice?
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Every school we are talking about here is a government run institution - if any of us think theyâre run efficiently and fairly with full accountability and transparency, wellâŠ
I agree some sort of hybrid would be nice - like some of the Ivy and Elite schools that have Restricted Early Action (REA) where you cannot apply to other schools EA or a limited number. Apparently every school has their own REA policy/restrictions - but point being it helps limit the EA applications for those kids who have a really strong interest in a particular school. I donât think it will ever happen though because as everyone is pointing out in this forum - it comes down to money. The schools with the REAâs have huge endowments and donât need the $. They will always get a plethora of applications as well due to their prestige. Unless the common app and current practices start having a negative impact at these schools I donât see them changing policies anytime soon.
Agree⊠or better yet, ONE decision day for every.single.school.
Correct me if iâm wrong (from a few years ago), anyone can apply to Honors - and they donât know who will get accepted to the University or who wonât - when you apply.
So thatâs why they market it widely - itâs their diamond - the nationâs top ranked. Many kids apply to U of SC, solely for a shot at HonorsâŠthey donât even care about the school itself.
Itâs just not realistic for them to not market to all unless they had a path like UGA - and they decided for you if you were in or had a later application round for those not chosen off the admissions app.
I get youâre unahppy with a result - but in the end, your kid will find a great schoool - Ole Miss, Miss State and especially LSU are all fine - and LSU is a great campus as are the others.
Youâll end up in the right place and likely with a similar career outcome, driven by the student.
One of kids applied to 20 schools, it was a lot of work. She got into all of them (including UMD OOS but not enough merit). The only way we could afford to send her OOS is with merit (although she ended up at Clemson with less than she received from most others, her sister ended up at UDel, also only applied to safeties/matches). It wouldâve been nice to apply to some reaches, but we canât afford them. I think many are in the same situation.
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Hereâs what I donât get- true that kids are now applying to tons of schools, but at the end of the day they can only attend one of them. Unless this class of graduating HS seniors is appreciably larger in number than previous classes, wouldnât that suggest that itâll eventually shake out about as expected- eg each school would ultimately have the kids enroll there that are on par with that schoolâs ânormalâ qualifications/stats? Just that it will take longer to get to that point as all the deferrals and now waitlists will take some time to shake out over the next couple months? Am I missing something here???
I think you may be right that things will somewhat self-correct. My understanding is that part of the issue resulted from COVID - where some kids took a gap year because they wanted to actually go away and attend classes at the college they were paying $$$$ and that resulted in increased applications and enrollment at many schools. I heard many had housing shortage issues last year due to over enrollment. That probably means they are being more conservative with deferrals and wait lists this year. Just a hunch.
I donât think kids should be limited on how many schools they apply to overall, but I do think EA should be more limited - if you could only apply to say 2 schools EA and they had to give you financial/merit with decision, I think it would make the process a lot less stressful for many kids and result in less deferrals/waitlisting. Thatâs so hard for kids when they have 1 top school and get lost in the shuffle like this year when schools just deferred because they couldnât handle the number of apps. Thatâs the part I donât think is fair.
This happened to me to.
Same kids have applied to the same SEC schoolsâŠit has to shake out IMO. Can only hope that once kids decide where they are going that they decline admission to the other schools so we arenât waiting to May or June 
Regardless this year has been miserable and a much longer process than expected!
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I donât think it will self-correct. I think itâll just propagate out to other schools that currently have higher admission rates such as Alabama, Ole Miss and Kentucky.
Schools have a yield history that they can count on year after year. For example, UMass knows each year that 20% of accepted students will attend. If they have room for 4,000 enrollees, that means theyâll accept 20k. Yield does not change due to more applications from more qualified students. All it does is edge out the less qualified students who will seek alternatives in the Alabamaâs of the world.
I get it, weâll be fine. My issue with the process was only concern for kids who thought because they were getting targeted for HC they were very likely accepted for admission, not applying elsewhere. Iâm sure admissions probably just uses an algorithm of grades=x, test scores =y. Maybe they should tweak that.
And yes, years ago you did not apply for HC, they just accepted you and gave you the option. Even 2 years ago, you just got a place to check on application if you were interested in applying to HC. This year it was 3 1000-1500 word essays very specific to USC.
This is my third go round, so Iâve always known itâs random and a crap shoot, but this year it seems even crazier
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Again, I believe itâs different because of the proliferation of social media on kids and their need to feel âlikesâ and acceptance and the common app makes that too easy.
The common app should not allow applications to 20 schools. There should be no limit as to how many schools one applies to, but it should be limited within the common app. If there was a reasonable limit in the common app, say 5 before you have to use a schoolâs proprietary application, you canât tell me that FSU would receive 75,000 applications or that Auburn would receive 55k. Itâs the one button press to apply to these schools that is causing all these issues.
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Disagree with the limit but you are right. The common app is a boon to colleges. When they join, they get a lot more apps - because why not ?? Itâs easy.
Maybe all colleges should require an essay. And not just a generic one although we canât start dictating to them.
I think parents would like limits. But I think the industry loves how it is and where itâs going.
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For sure, itâs all money driven. It wonât change. Itâs not a bubble thatâll burst. I do believe that two or three years from now, large public schools in more temperate and warm climates that currently have 80% acceptance rates will see those rates drop precipitously because kids will be forced to adapt.
Thing is, itâs not like employers are drooling over Clemson or U of SC or UMD grads. They are fine schools, maybe their reputations put them above average, but they are still public colleges - just harder to get into, strictly because of numbers. Kidâs are not getting a better education or set up for more success because they are at one of those schools over a UDel, for example. It still comes down to the student and what they put into it, and quite frankly, who they know.
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I actually think school districts will continue to grade inflate bcuz if this arms race.
Our kids arenât getting in - we need even more As.