According to Peterson's Education Group, the number of college applicants is rising, making admission more competitive.

Why Are Applications Increasing?

The increase comes from a surge in births during the 1980s. Children of the baby boomers are coming of age. Experts predict applications will continue to rise faster than openings at most colleges through about 2010. As applications rise, schools may be a little more selective during the admissions process than what they used to be. This can mean more pressure for students going through the application process.

Benefits of Increased Selectivity

Increased selectivity means better students are going to all colleges, broadening your choice of schools with a high-achieving student population.

There are lots of schools where students can be happy and successful. Peterson's encourages students and parents to consider a range of schools, rather than focusing on a single institution. Get more tips on how to find a college that matches your needs.

Community colleges, for example, can allow you to spend two years improving grades or selecting a career focus before transferring to a four-year university. While you might be taught by a graduate student at a large university, teachers at community colleges are usually professors who primarily want to teach, not conduct research.

Smaller class sizes and more access to professors at small public or private colleges can be a boost to students, while some may prefer the energy and variety of a large university. It's important for you to determine your needs and academic interests and select five or six schools that make a good fit.

What Are Colleges Looking For?

As you prepare application materials, it can help to know what schools are really looking for in the piles of paperwork.

Admission officers evaluate applications in different ways, depending on how selective, or competitive, their college is.

The Levels of Selectivity

Less Selective
Less selective colleges focus on whether applicants meet minimum requirements and whether there's room for more students. Acceptable grades are often the only requirement beyond an interest in college study. The SAT I or ACT may be required, but test scores are usually used for course placement, not admission.

More Selective
More selective colleges consider course work, grades, test scores, recommendations, and essays. The major factor may be whether you are ready for college-level study. It's possible to be denied admission because of a weakness or a lack of interest in higher education.

Very Selective
As many as 10 or 15 students apply for each spot at very selective schools. Admission officers look carefully at every aspect of a student's high school experience, from academic strength to test scores. Since many applicants are strong academically, other factors — such as your essay — are critical. Although they receive a great deal of publicity, only a small number of colleges (fewer than 100) are this selective.

Admission Factors

• courses taken
• counselor/teacher recommendations
• ethnicity
• grades
• application questions and essays
• geographic location
• grade point average
• personal interview
• alumni relationship
• rank in class
• activities outside the classroom
• major/college applied to
• admission test results
• special talents and skills

There's no general agreement about which of these factors are ranked more important. However, according to Peterson's, most admission officers place the most weight on your high school record.

How Important Are Extracurricular Activities?

While schools do consider them, they're looking to see if you've shown a long-term commitment in one or two areas.

Need-Blind Admission

Most colleges have a need-blind admission policy. This means they decide whether to make an offer of admission without considering your family's financial situation.

Other colleges are need sensitive; they do consider your family's financial situation in the admission process. These colleges know they can't satisfy the financial aid needs of all applicants. Some schools use need-sensitive admission when deciding to accept a borderline student or to pull a student off of the waiting list.

Matching Admission Standards

As part of the college search, you should compare your academic and personal qualifications to those of students typically admitted to schools where you want to apply.