Drop in Applications at Top Colleges

While many public universities and community colleges are seeing a surge in bargain-hunting applicants this year, most of the top private liberal arts colleges are seeing a decline in applications. Bloomberg.com reports that seven of the eight top liberal arts colleges saw a decrease in applications this year (article here). What does this mean for applicants? Essentially, in 2009 fewer students will be receiving rejection letters from Amherst, Bowdoin, Carleton, Middlebury, Pomona, Swarthmore, and Williams than they did in 2008. Wellesley College, however, saw a slight uptick in the number of applications they received.

This news, however, doesn't mean that the bar will be much lower at these top schools. The decrease comes on the heels on record numbers of applications in 2008, so all of these colleges are still highly competitive with strict admissions standards.

The drop in applications at private colleges is most likely being driven by the economy. However, future college students shouldn't sign of private liberal arts colleges because of cost. Many of these schools meet 100% of all students financial need, and many offer financial aid that includes small or no loans. Students at public universities will likely graduate with far more debt. Seth Allen from Grinnell College discusses these financial issues in this article comparing public universities and private colleges.