<p>With the downturn in the economy, I can only assume that more parents will want their children to seriously consider public education instead of a private college. If that's true, do you think that there will there be more applications submitted to these public schools, making them harder to get in to?</p>
<p>Yes. We saw in Florida the state U’s that are more regional and have rolling admissions had out of sight SAT/GPA requirements and waiting lists by the time spring rolled around. This was unheard of last year. Our flagship U’s UF and FSU did see record applications, but I think that it will hit even more into next years applications. FSU has an early application period, with early apps due Oct, and UF has an early date for all applications. So this year, some were still in financial denial. But realities about finances will clearly make a difference this coming year.</p>
<p>I highly doubt Carolina will be significantly harder to get into. Pretty much all top applicants in the state already apply – UNC is the dream school for most North Carolinians from an early age (no offense to State).</p>
<p>There are many families who regard UNC in a different light than “a dream school from an early age.” Many of those are Duke, Wake, NCState families and fans. Who follow the “ABC” rule, “anywhere but Carolina.”</p>
<p>That being said, state university applications will continue to be on the rise while we find our way through this economic jungle. If you have children applying next year, I would recommend you apply to several tiers of state colleges.</p>
<p>n.b., I am not a UNC fan. I dont trash schools, its just not my bag.</p>
<p>Heck yeah, but it will depend on the state. Those that severely trim their state school’s budgets may see a loss of student applications from concerns about available resources. Some schools are rumored to be taking fewer students. Thus fewer applicants when the reality of how hard it will be able to get in becomes apparent (after this year’s acceptances become fact).</p>
<p>That phenomenon is already occurring, and I witnessed it firsthand here in Florida this year. Both UF and FSU were getting budget cuts from the legislature, they both reduced their class sizes (at least UF did), and they both saw jumps in applicants. In fact, I believe their acceptance rates are both in the 30’s, and UF may have even broken into the 20’s this year. I was just fortunate enough to get into one of them. Even the lesser known schools like UCF are getting hard to get into.</p>
<p>At my future school, UMinn, they saw a record applicant pool this year of 33,000! I’m not sure what the acceptance rate will look like, but it will probably be at a record low as well. Lot’s of applicants saw UMinn as a safety school, but those days are long gone. </p>
<p>But I think it’s really a matter of expenses as to which colleges get more competitive. At Florida state schools and places like UMinn (who offer one of the lowest OOS tuition rates in the Big 10), they’re almost guaranteed to see a jump in competitiveness. Other schools like CU-Boulder, who offer virtually no financial aid and have a ridiculously high OOS tuition, may see their applicant pool remain stagnant, or possibly even lose applicants.</p>