GETTING IN JUST GOT TOUGHER!

Acording to an east coast paper, getting into the University of Pennsylvania or other elite private schools in the area could be more difficult in the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 acceptance years.  Why,  the applications have been arriving with record increases.

A good part of the problem is that California Students are having to think "outside the box" where budget cuts have sent shock waves through the state system and for this year as the California Schools have had to reduce class size once again making for less spots in the UCs (9 undergraduate campuses, which just went up 35%), making the value of a degree from the UCs more valuable,  and it demanding more competition to get into the Cal State Schools ( 23 Cal States) and Community Colleges ( 108 schools).   Colleges and Universities being aware of California's budget crisis is cashing in on its students,  which is giving rise to the eye-popping increases in applications on the east coast, .

In addition,  colleges and universities across the country are being more aggressive about their recruiting practices due to the overall economic downturn.  There has been a jump in applications from minority students, and some students are filing elsewhere to get the best financial aid deal.  For example, the University of Indiana is offering students who got their applications into the school by November 1, 2010 an automatic $9,000 scholarship that will carry through for four years, whether they are from Indiana or elsewhere.

At the University of Pennsyvannia,  applications rose 17 % to 26,800 for 2,400 spots - one of its largest jumps ever after two relatively flat years.Other schools saw much the same.  Princeton University reports a 19%  increase in applications, Drexel University 19%, Villanova University 10%, and Swarthmore College 8%.

Penn recieved 3,350 applications from California, a 22 % hike. Swarthmore was up 16 %, Villanova 34%, and the University of Delaware 36%.

"An increase like we saw in California doesn't just happen," one admissions officer said "Families in California must be looking at the strain the state system is under and are starting to take a look at some other options outside the state."

Applications to private schools are also showing some record increases nationally.  The University of Chicago was up by 42%.

"You would have thought that economic conditions in the country would make higher-priced institutions a lot less interesting to families," he said, but "they understand that the recession, no matter how severe it may be, will end fairly soon, whereas the benefits of a college education are spread out over a lifetime." said another admissions officer.

Princeton plans to increase its financial-aid budget to $113 million next school year, up from $103 million. With more applications from minority students also are fueling the spurt in applications locally. The numbers of Black are up 33 % and Hispanic applicants up 29% to Penn.

Applications from Asians rose 61% at Delaware, as did the numbers rise within the Black and Hispanic applicants.

Villanova drew 3,200 applications from minority students, its highest total. And Pennsylvania State University had an 8 % climb. Villanova's applications rose even though its draw from Pennsylvania fell 4 percent.

The increases are coming even as the number of U.S. high school graduates has begun to decline (despite continuing gains in the West and Southwest).

Officials also speculated that students were continuing to apply to more schools. In 1990, 9 % of students applied to seven or more colleges. In 2006, the numbers went up to 18 % .

Many state and state-related schools also saw application increases.

Rutgers University, New Jersey's flagship, is tracking 5 % higher, which it attributed in part to the opening of its new visitors center. Penn State was up 4 % as of mid-January. Delaware is ahead 7 %, bringing in 25,247 applications. At the same time, it will offer admission to a smaller class.

"The SAT scores in this year's pool were up significantly - 18 points higher..Some admissions officers are crediting this increase to more aggressive recruiting. However, the size of the jump in applications surprised many schools, they thought they would see only a 10% gain.

As the competition grows, an increase in the use of skilled Colllege Admissions Consultants will become in more demand.