<p>I'm a senior in high school and just finished the college application process. I was just thinking how competitive it is to get into the top colleges and how it gets harder every year. So what about my generation's children? Do you think they will all have to be some sort of child prodigy to get into college?</p>
<p>We're really lucky in the U.S. </p>
<p>It is not that hard to get into a quality state university, and community colleges accept everyone. In some placed like China you need to be in the top 1% to be considered for college.</p>
<p>I'm sure the competitive trend will die off a little in later years. We were born the peak birth years so there are more of us graduating from high school and thus applying to college. In the future, i'm sure our generation will not have as many children.</p>
<p>To get into a "top" college, probably. Ivies, all that. Or at least be incredibly lucky- an applicant can only become so good, and once you're at that level and there are 8370257 other applicants at that level, it comes down to chance. They'll just have less of a chance.</p>
<p>I don't think it will really make a difference- it will be sort of trickle-down... top applicants will be rejected from the percieved top schools, and then go to slightly lower schools that will become more selective because of this, etc. They'll be a place for everyone.</p>
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<p>It is not that hard to get into a quality state university, and community colleges accept everyone. In some placed like China you need to be in the top 1% to be considered for college.
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<p>Now its around 25% (don't remember) with 20% more in trade/associate/junior college.</p>
<p>still MUCH MUCH better in the U.S., and we have the best universities in the world (well Europe has a few greats, and so do Inidia and things like that), but all in all we have a fantastic opportunity.</p>
<p>Agree with Iirokotree.</p>
<p>We're just unlucky enough to be part of the baby boom echo generation.</p>
<p>But going back to the op's post, our kids will simply be the baby boom echo's echo. Regardless of the number of kids we have, it will still be huge.</p>
<p>In addition to Johnson181's point, you have to look at long-run trends in numbers going to college (I believe the % is going up) and the quality of those students as schools, gc's and parents get better at the process. I am sure that cc is growing and will continue to grow.</p>
<p>I guess we owe it to our children to get into top schools--the legacy factor might make the difference for them!</p>
<p>haha good point eli</p>
<p>Here's my FAQ about college application demographic trends. </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>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 Austin American-Statesman newspaper in Texas published news about these trends in an article about a particular applicant in April 2008. </p>
<p>Perfect</a> college entrance exam scores don't help student who dreamt of the Ivy Leagues </p>
<p>The Economist magazine published a brief article about these trends in April 2008. </p>
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In some placed like China you need to be in the top 1% to be considered for college.
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considered for the best colleges *</p>