<p>I guess this is he general trend in college, I saw mit in 06 had like 10k apps and now about 16k. So why is this happening?</p>
<p>More applications = lower admissions rate statistic = panicked people wanting to “play it safe” = more applications per person to college. :(</p>
<p>right, but why did they increase in the first place so much</p>
<p>I think a factor could be that it’s becoming increasingly easier to apply for college.</p>
<p>A few elements:</p>
<p>– In the US, the “echo boom” of babyboomer kids started hitting college age. The peak of this has passed, but the decline year-to-year is infinitesimal.
– At the same time, the percentage of high school graduates going to college has increased.
– Years of rising prosperity in the world (and especially places like China and India), coupled with increasing perception that elite American universities are the best places to study, have led to a huge increase in international applications.
– Flight to quality: MIT and Podunk U. may cost roughly the same after financial aid. MIT is a much safer bet than Podunk U. So the applications are going to flow to MIT.
– Brand consciousness. Apart from actual higher value, people see the brand strength of top colleges (“reputation”) as another source of value.
– Promotional activities of colleges. Colleges have vastly increased their marketing to attract more geographically, ethnically, and economically diverse applicants. It has worked.</p>