16 Feb 2006

More Colleges Report Record Application Volume for 2006

As we noted a couple of days ago, many schools saw jumps in their application volume during the 2005-2006 admissions season. Now several more colleges are reporting that they received record numbers of applications for fall 2006 admissions.

Bryn Mawr, a highly regarded private liberal arts college located in a suburb of Philadelphia, received 2,127 applications for the approximately 365 freshman class seats it has available in fall 2006. The figure marks a 10 per cent increase in application volume from last year as well as an all-time high in application volume.

An admissions officer told The Bi-College News, a student paper, that Bryn Mawr's acceptance rate had dropped from about 60 per cent five years ago to about 46 per cent this year. "The requirements have not changed, but we have more qualified applicants than we are able to admit," she said.

Stanford and Dartmouth also reported receiving about 10 per cent more applications in 2005-2006 than in previous years. Duke received 19,282 applications – over 10 applications for every available space in its Class of 2010.

What's an aspiring college student to do in this situation?

First, relax. Keep in mind that more high school students are submitting multiple college applications. That means that the record application numbers like the ones cited here aren't as dire as they look. (Even if someone applies to and is accepted at half a dozen schools, they can only attend one – right?)

Second (and more importantly), remember that college admissions are about selecting people who are not only promising students but who are also a good fit for a particular institution. A first step in increasing your chances of admission to your targeted schools is targeting the right schools. A later, crucial step will demonstrating your 'fit' for each institution in your admission essay.

Now is a perfect time to start researching schools and identifying the ones which are a particularly good fit for your interests, values, and ambitions.

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