The College Applicant Pool Has Crested, But More Minority Students Expected to Enroll in College

This year colleges and universities across the United States have recorded large increases in applicants. The reason for this is twofold. First, students tend to apply to more colleges than in the past due in part to the ease of submitting the Common Application to multiple institutions.

Also, the high school graduating class of 2008 is the largest in the nation’s history.

But a report from the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education finds that the number of high school graduates will decline next year and in the years to follow. The declines will be most severe in the Northeast and Midwest regions of the country. This means that colleges and universities in these states will have to increase their recruitment efforts in other states.

The demographics of the applicant pool in coming years will also be different. The data shows that there will be a greater number of Asians and Hispanics. The number of college-bound blacks will increase at a smaller rate and the number of white students applying to college will decline.