Long Lines at College Gates

[flashl]

An application crush, driven in part by demographics, has more students bound for wait lists as schools face a tricky admissions calculus.

After 35 years as dean of admissions at Georgetown University, Charles Deacon has it pretty much down to a science: He knows just how many students to accept to hit the freshman class numbers almost perfectly.

But this year, all bets are off.

Georgetown had a surge of nearly 30 percent in early applications this fall, followed by a record total of applicants -- and little idea of how many students, if admitted, would say yes.

It looks to be the year of the wait list. For many top colleges, the application process has been roiled by changes, among them a dramatic shift in financial aid, and a few influential schools have ended early admission programs. There is an unusual level of uncertainty, both for colleges and students -- as if the admissions process weren't stressful enough.

Adding to the mix is another year of historically high numbers for applications at many schools. The children of baby boomers are graduating in large numbers from high school, and their ranks will crest next year. More students than ever are going on to college -- about two-thirds of high school graduates go directly to a two- or four-year college, said David Hawkins, director of public policy and research for the National Association for College Admission Counseling.

...

This fall, Harvard and Princeton universities and the University of Virginia dropped their early admission programs, saying the process "disadvantages the disadvantaged" by giving an edge to more privileged students who don't need to wait for the spring to compare financial aid offers.

...

Harvard, Yale University, the University of Pennsylvania, Dartmouth College and other schools have announced generous financial aid programs and matched Princeton's guarantee that students who qualify will get grants instead of loans.

Those changes are rippling through the most selective schools, whose applicant pools overlap considerably. And the number of applicants continues to skyrocket.

Washington Post

Seems like a good news, bad news, story. More applicants. Now, what to do?