Thanks for the responses so far, very interesting. Anyone else out there have thoughts? @ucbalumnus ? @MYOS1634 ? @thumper1 ? @intparent ?
I’m going to plug a couple of my Virginia schools: James Madison and Virginia Tech are suddenly more competetive to get into and are attracting a lot of out-of-state applicants.
Northwestern is already near the top, but they have a visionary president, a huge endowment, and are building huge beautiful buildings all over the place…dorms, sports facilities…the new business building is amazing.
I know I posted a response yesterday, but it seems to have disappeared!
Yes, I’m biased, but I think College of Wooster is on the rise. It is moving from “hidden gem” to getting more recognition (on CC, for sure!). The change in leadership has been a positive move.
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@Lindagaf say a little more about U Denver. What are your good thoughts about it. My D is going there.
I thought i already responded…
I agree with Santa Clara. Even in the northeast where I live…in a semi rural area…this school is now on more folks’ radar screens.
Boston University. I know…it’s expensive. But it’s another place where acceptance rates have plummeted and i believe were in the below 30% acceptance area this round.
The Big Ten flagships have always seemed strong to me…but now i see other flagships entering the scene…most notable is University of Washington. Lots of applicants!
Skidmore
Very interested to see what happens with Quinnipiac. They are now connected to a medical school which may give them a boost. We will be visiting soon so I’ll give a report.
I think if I had a dollar for everyone who claimed a college they liked was on the rise, I would be typing my response from a beach chair in a tropical location right now. 
And @CADREAMIN, I think the post above yours was about Iowa State (in Ames), not UIowa?
Agree that Denison is a great school and is on an upward trajectory. But meets 100% of need? I see that the Denison web site says that, but neither US News Compass or the College Navigator indicate that this is true. Is this a new initiative at Denison?
@mom0126 , I am pretty sure my son will apply. I think it’s in a good location, and there seems to be a lack of any other colleges of that size in the region. Good ratio of faculty to students. The freshman retention rate is the highest it’s been for many years (I checked back to 2013) and the number of students admitted from waitlist is down. Only 1 from the 2017-2018 cycle. I think it has a decent reputation.
With respect to Purdue…
I am a Purdue grad - but I am very skeptical of the direction the schools i going. I dislike the Universities reliance on international (esp Chinese) students and I dislike the embrace of the for-profit partnership with Kaplan.
Cities are popular, STEM is popular, selectivity is popular, college is unaffordable. Therefore, any university located in a decent-sized city, with strong STEM departments, some pre-existing reputation for quality, and with financial resources to offer good merit aid and/or superlative need-based aid is going to be increasingly successful in the foreseeable future. Even more so if the city is vibrant and growing. Being the flagship for your city is great, and so is being the second best option where the first-best is maxed out.
That’s why University of Denver is a great bet. Santa Clara, because Silicon Valley seems to count as a “city” these days. Johns Hopkins – obviously, it’s already strong, but I think it will get stronger. Emory, Vanderbilt, USC, Miami, Tulane, Case Western. Every college in Boston. Fordham. Georgia Tech, Drexel, if it can get on better financial footing. I like Richmond and Rochester, too, but I’m afraid those cities may be a tad too small to really give a boost. And on the public side, yes, Washington, also the Canadian schools Toronto, McGill, UBC.
Rowan University in NJ
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This may not be the kind of rise you’re thinking of, but I think the public Us in states with state or lottery funded scholarships for high stat in-state kids will continue to rise. I live in Georgia and have seen UGA get increasingly selective as more and more in-state kids choose to save money and go there over more selective private or OOS options. I believe the same is happening in Florida as @Gator88NE mentioned.
I’m a JMU alumn, so I can’t claim objectivity, but I concur with the quote above from @Muad_dib
My son is a Massachusetts student heading to JMU in the fall. Coincidentally, I have three co-workers who know students from their towns that are headed to JMU as well. Through the Facebook class of 22 page my son also connected with at least 2 other kids locally that are headed to Harrisonburg.
The difference in price between UMass and JMU for tuition, room & board is under $10,000/year. UMass is notoriously stingy with in-state aid. For those reasons it keeps a school like JMU in the mix for MA kids, especially if they offer any aid whatsoever.
According to Naviance, 105 students from my son’s high school applied to UMass. The number of students that applied to JMU…1… 
Clemson, UCF, Alabama, and Utah.
“I am a Purdue grad - but I am very skeptical of the direction the schools i going. I dislike the Universities reliance on international (esp Chinese) students and I dislike the embrace of the for-profit partnership with Kaplan.”
My D will be graduating from Purdue in 10 days. She has had an excellent experience. I very much like Purdue University but am in the watchful waiting mode concerning “Purdue Global” formally Kaplan. Given that it is an on-line university it looks like it’s target market is not those out of HS seeking a four year degree. It’s market looks to be more people currently working, military, ex military or those looking to get back into their college education without the necessity of being tied to a place. The prices seem better than those at most “for profit” universities. I cannot find any direct reference to Purdue Global on Purdue’s regular website. As for your other concern that seems to be a path many large flagships are taking. Purdue has the advantage if you want to call it that of having a strong reputation overseas. Purdue has kept it’s costs flat for 8 years running now. It remains to be seen where this all leads but you can’t fault them for not being innovative.
University of Kentucky in Lexington.
For Chicago area people, who regularly consider the area flagships U Iowa, UIUC, UW-Madison, Mizzou, I predict that UK will continue to get positive attention and will find itself in the running. A normal consideration, instead of an oddity.
With all the new buildings at UK — dorms, grad housing, science, student center, dining options — it makes a great first impression & some of the other area flagships look a out-dated by comparison.
From an in-state perspective I’ve seen Appalachian State really rise in the last five to seven years to become a very popular choice for good students in my kids’ HS. Boone is a really cool mountain college town, and App offers a very appealing traditional college experience with some excellent programs and really engaged and happy students. I think they have great faculty (most colleges do) b/c it’s a place where a lot of professors are attracted to live.
I have not seen much about App on CC, but I’m curious to watch if interest from OOS students increases. I’d call it a ‘hidden gem’ right now. I have no idea what level of out of state recruitment they even do. (In NC we have 18% cap on OOS students so not a huge incentive to do much OOS recruitment, beyond UNC and NC State of course which are more focused on their status as national universities.)
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