Many colleges and universities reported a surge in applicants to the Class of 2014, causing admission rates to drop to new records. The growing pool of college-bound students applying to the same set of institutions is just one reason qualified students face heightened competition for admission.
 

Compounding the matter is the growing number of post-secondary students. According to U.S. Census Bureau estimates, 19 million students will be enrolled in the nation’s colleges and universities in 2009, up from 18.4 million in 2008, and 13.5 million twenty years ago.
 

Of those students completing high school this year, an estimated 67% are going to college, up from approximately 50% in 1980.
 

Escalating competition also reflects significant increases in international students -- more than 100,000 from India (9% annual increase) and 98,500 students from China (21% annual increase). The demand for a U.S. college education is attracting students from all over the world. The number of students attending U.S. colleges and universities from each of these six countries—Brazil, Germany, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Turkey, and Vietnam—increased 8% or more during the 2008-09 school year from the prior year.
 

The Common Application and the ease of online applications also contributed to the skyrocketing number of applications. It is not usual for students to apply to a dozen schools. Some complete twenty or more applications.
 

Student anxiety about the college process stemming from increased competition and rejection rates is thought to have added more fuel to the fire. Frequent stories about well-qualified applicants not being accepted, causes many students to try to hedge their bets by applying to more schools.
 

The economic downturn is also thought to be a factor. Many high school seniors apply to colleges and universities they believe will help them find better employment following graduation.
 

The U.S. News and World Report Annual College Rankings, which uses selectivity (e.g. percent admitted, yield) as a key metric is also thought to contribute to the self-perpetuating spiral.  Coincidentally, many of the “top-ranked-schools” are the same institutions setting records for number of applications as well as percentage rejected.
 

The popularity of The U.S. News and World Report Annual College Rankings has inspired many institutions to expand their marketing efforts to encourage more students to apply. A number of selective colleges and universities have expanded their outreach to attract an expanded pool of prospective students.
 

Ranking of colleges continues to be a subject of much debate. Some consider the practice detrimental and believe that rankings pressure colleges to focus on boosting their scores by employing various tactics (e.g. expanding early decision programs, enhanced marketing, waiver of application fees for selected applicants) to appear more selective. There is also talk of some colleges trying to “game the system” in the peer review aspect of the evaluation, which accounts for a significant percentage of the U.S. News and World Report score.
 

The chart below contains U.S. News and World Report Annual College Rankings (Best Colleges 2010 - released Aug 2009 -- separate for universities and liberal arts colleges) along with admission rates for some of the most competitive institutions. 

*Based on available information.  Not responsible for errors.

U.S. News released its Best Colleges 2011 Rankings in August 2010.  Click here to access updated rankings from U.S. News.

Written by: Lynn Radlauer Lubell, Publisher of InLikeMe.com and Founder of Admission By Design (lynn@admissionbydesign.com), an Educational Consultancy based in Boca Raton, Florida.