Feb 19, 2008 4:47 pm US/Eastern
College Applications In Mass. Breaking Records
Growing Number Of Students Competing For Same Number Of Openings
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
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UMass Amherst is just one local college that has seen the number of applications grow to record numbers.
Michael Pueschel/WBZ
At high schools around the Commonwealth and the country, this is high anxiety time for many college-bound seniors. Their college applications long completed and mailed out, they're waiting and watching the mailbox to find out where they've been accepted and where they've been rejected.
This year, there's more competition than ever before.
"The admission climate right now I would characterize as very challenging for families," said John Mahoney, the Director of Undergraduate Admission at Boston College.
Many colleges and universities are reporting volumes of applications. B.C. set a record last year with 28,850 applications for 2,250 spots. This year, officials there expect about 31,000 applications for the same number of spots.
"Boston College has seen a tremendous rise in applications. We've risen 29 percent over the last four years. We've cracked over 30,000 applications for the first time in our history. It's creating a very competitive very selective situation," Mahoney told WBZ.
"We'll take 25 percent of those students this year and with the increased numbers has come increased quality of those students. The mean SAT of applicants and enrolled students has risen, we've got tremendous geographic diversity."
At UMass Amherst, a record 27,138 students applied last year. This year, officials say they expect up to 31,000.
Bentley College officials report an expected eight percent increase over last year. Similar trends are being reported on campuses across the country.
"It's created tremendous competition at the highest levels, Ivy League institutions which are admitting in some cases seven percent of their applicants, the next tier like Amherst and Williams admitting 10-15 percent and then a place like Boston College admitting approximately 25 percent of its applicants this year," said Mahoney.
The numbers are not expected to peak until a year from now, when the nation's largest senior class in history is scheduled to graduate high school.
In addition to the sheer number of students, officials attribute the rising number of applications to the ease of applying online, students applying to more schools as a 'safety net', and the need for families to ease the financial burden by applying to more schools to compare financial aid.
"It's imperative that families have good strategies in place, that they are researching colleges appropriately and that they know just what the competition is, so they can select a group of colleges that will serve them well in this process," said Mahoney.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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