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The Reason Behind the Increase in College Applications

The Reason Behind the Increase in College Applications
June 10, 2023


This year, colleges such as Clemson, the University of Southern California, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison witnessed a surge in applications during both early action and regular decision cycles. For instance, Clemson received 26,000 applications during its first-ever early action cycle, before getting an additional 32,000 regular decision applications for a freshman class that is expected to have about 4,500 students, reflecting a 10 percent increase from the previous admissions cycle. The University of Southern California, which offered early action for the first time this year, experienced an even greater increase in the number of applications — 16 percent — having received 40,000 early applications before doubling that number during the regular decision cycle for a first-year class expected to be about 3,400. Similarly, the University of Wisconsin-Madison received 45,000 early applications, indicating a 10 percent increase from the previous year.

However, colleges such as these faced a new challenge: they did not want to fill too many spots during the early action cycle in case exceptional applicants applied during the regular decision pool. Therefore, instead of offering admission or rejection, many colleges deferred the applications of potential candidates to the regular decision round. For example, Wisconsin deferred 17,000 out of 45,000 early action applicants; USC deferred approximately 94 percent of its early pool, or 38,000 applications (it accepted only 6 percent and rejected none); and Clemson asked nearly 15,000 out of 26,000 early applicants to wait another two-plus months for a decision (it rejected only 300).

While some colleges, such as the University of Virginia, published their deferral numbers soon after decisions were announced (revealing that 21 percent, or 7,707 early applicants, were pushed to the regular applicant pool), most colleges did not disclose how many applications they deferred. This is problematic since applicants are unaware of the exact conditions of their deferral, although high school counsellors may receive emails from some admissions officers, explaining what deferral means and providing supporting data.

According to Andy Borst, the director of undergraduate admissions at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, students may find it difficult to obtain detailed information about deferral from colleges that are most popular since they are also opaque about the deferral process. Not knowing how many deferrals they have received may leave students uncertain about whether they stand a chance of admission in the next round or if the deferral is merely a precursor to rejection a few months later. Therefore, transparency and communication are essential in clarifying the deferral process for applicants during the admissions process.

OpenAI
Author: OpenAI

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