Each year it seems as if colleges are receiving a record-breaking number of applications. According to the Common App’s newest estimates, this year the number of college applicants increased by 13% and the total number of applications increased by 22% from last year. So what is causing this large increase?

For starters, the Common App has made it easier than ever to apply to college. With almost every college on the Common App, college applicants are just clicks away from applying to any college they can dream of. “I would say that Common App simplifies the [college application] process a bit. It’s formatted similar to a Google form with questions where you select options or fill them out,” senior Andrew Reynolds said.

Another reason there are more applicants this year is because of colleges adopting a no test scores policy. Due to Covid-19, many colleges made their applications test-optional, meaning students didn’t need to submit an ACT or SAT score. This meant students who were originally discouraged from applying due to low test scores, now applied. 

Remote learning is another change adopted due to Covid-19 that has broken down barriers of the college application process. “With remote learning options, students can attend college from anywhere in the world provided they have a computer and internet service. They no longer must pay for room and board with this remote learning option making a college education more attainable than ever before,” college info coordinator Kathleen Carr said.

On top of all that, many colleges have also begun adopting a holistic admissions process. “Holistic reviews focus on students’ involvement in extracurricular activities within their schools and throughout their communities,” Carr said. “The admission professional’s holistic approach to reviewing a candidate’s application has knocked down barriers such as test scores that have prevented students from applying to the school in past years.”

With this large increase in applicants, we are seeing colleges’ acceptance rates hitting all-time lows. People are getting rejected from schools they expected to get into and are left wondering where they went wrong. Senior Geena Kumaran was one of the many students who failed to get accepted into a few colleges that they originally expected to. “A lot of colleges with low yield rates were definitely more picky this year,” Kumaran said. “It’s obviously not optimal, but there are always other schools.”

However, not everyone felt as if it was harder to get into college this year. “I think getting into college this year was surprisingly easy and I didn’t fail to get into any colleges I thought I would get into,” senior Logan Koliscak said.