Has the Application Wave Crested? Number of College Applications May be Dropping After Years of Sustained Increases.

(From AScribe)

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- The National Association for College Admission Counseling's 2004-05 State of College Admission report provides evidence that the rate of increase in applications to four-year colleges and universities is slowing for the first time in nearly 10 years. Moreover, the number of colleges reporting a decrease in Early Decision applications actually exceeds the number of reporting an increase for the first time since NACAC began collecting Early Decision data five years ago. The report details the following major trends (among others) in college admission during 2004-05:

- Rate of increase in college applications slowing. For the first time in nearly 10 years, and despite continued increases in the number of high school graduates heading directly to college, the number of institutions reporting an overall increase in admission applications dropped slightly, from 74 percent in 2003-04 to 67 percent in 2004-05. The number of four-year colleges that reported in a decrease in applications rose from 16 percent in 2003-04 to 23 percent in 2004-05.

- Large dip in Early Decision. For the first time since 2000, a larger number of institutions (45 percent) reported a decrease in Early Decision applications than reported an increase (37 percent).

- Admission essay ties class rank for importance in application process. A student's personal essay is as important as their rank in class, according to colleges and universities. A student's grades in college preparatory courses, standardized admission test scores, and overall grade point average continue to be the top three admission factors.

- A student's interest in attending counts as a "tip factor." ...