Dive Brief:
- Duke University saw its biggest jump ever in early decision applications — up 25% over last year; Northwestern University and Boston University saw 15% increases.
- Numbers such as those seem to indicate that a general trend toward a smaller applicant pool may not apply to the most selective schools, at least not yet.
- Many Ivy League schools set records for the number of applications received in the early decision/early action pools.
Dive Insight:
A bigger picture of application numbers and acceptance rates will emerge when schools beyond the super elites provide data. That's when we'll really know if a landscape with fewer applicants has colleges clamoring for students. Already in 2012, college enrollment dropped about 500,000 students from the year before.
