For all the institutions analyzed, there were nearly 4.9 million total applications in 2002, or about four for every student who ended up enrolling somewhere. By 2017, the total number of applications had more than doubled to almost 10.2 million, or 6.8 per enrolled student.

How many college applications are submitted each year?

The Common Application is a standardized application used by nearly 700 colleges. Each year, nearly a million students use the Common Application to submit over 4 million applications.

What percentage of students apply to college?

The overall college enrollment rate of 18- to 24-year-olds (ages in which students traditionally enroll in college) was 41 percent in 2019. In this indicator, college enrollment rate is defined as the percentage of 18- to 24-year-olds enrolled as undergraduate or graduate students in 2- or 4-year institutions.

How many college applications is too many?

The College Board recommends that high school seniors narrow down their application list to five to eight schools. It’s okay to stray a little outside this range, but as a general rule of thumb you should aim to reach those numbers because sending more than ten applications can have drastic consequences.

How many colleges do most students apply to?

Most students should apply to somewhere between 12 to 15 colleges. There are no guarantees that you will be accepted to your desired school, but you should have a rough idea about your chances of admission to each school.

How many people drop out of college?

In the United States, the overall dropout rate for undergraduate college students is 40%. 30% of the dropout rate comes from college freshman dropping out before their sophomore year. In 4-year colleges, 56% of students drop out within 6 years. Black students had the highest college dropout rate at 54%.

How common is a 4.0 GPA in high school?

98.4% of schools have an average GPA below a 4.0. You have a low chance of getting into with a 4.0 GPA.

Are less people going to college?

By fall 2020, about 460,000 fewer students were enrolled in U.S. colleges than in fall 2019. A recent survey found that more than half of high school students are open to something other than a four-year degree, sinking 20 percent in the last eight months from 71 percent to 53 percent.

How many colleges do students apply to on average?

How Many Colleges Does the Average Student Apply To? In general, most students apply to 8-12 colleges. This is a good number to aim for, assuming that the applications you submit represent a broad variety of colleges. Usually, you will want to apply to at least 2 safeties, 4 targets, and 2 reaches.

Does everyone get into college?

A 2019 report from the National Association for College Admission Counseling revealed that, on average, two-thirds of first-time freshman applicants were offered admission to a four-year school in the U.S. Some 80% of places accepted 50% or more of applicants.

Is applying to 17 colleges too much?

While there’s no cap on the number of schools you can apply to, some students, especially those from affluent backgrounds who want to go to a selective college, can go overboard, applying to more than 20 or 30 colleges. Personally, I would strongly discourage any student from applying to more than 15 colleges.

Is applying to 4 colleges enough?

Thus, most students should apply to 3-4 match schools, a safety school and a reach school. If the student applies to a good mix of colleges, the odds of being admitted to at least one college will be 98 percent. All students should also apply to a financial aid safety school.