I am applying to most top schools this winter and have also attended receptions by all these schools in the bay area over the last 4 months. As I absorbed their great presentations and networked with the admission officers, it became clear to me that the volume of applicants to these schools has been steadily increasing over the past few years. In addition to US applicants, it appears that the rapid increase in economies in India and China is also driving significant increases in international applicants as well. Bottom line – it is increasingly getting more competitive for anyone to get into these colleges. With many colleges opting for the common app, this situation is likely to worsen further.
But what is not clear to me at all is whether it is smart for all these colleges to maintain the similar size of incoming student pool with negligible increases over the years. In my wisdom, business 101 has taught me that a greater demand (number of students applying) for a particular service warrants expansion in supply (number of students admitted).
I am noticing that this unmet demand is being accommodated by fresh investments into the education sector in developing economies like India and China – over there, government and private sectors are funding new universities every day. Recently, I met a friend of mine who has decided to pursue medicine in India because he feels that quality of education there is comparable to that in US while being less expensive. If this trend continues unchecked, I fear that today’s top schools could potentially get marginalized 15-20 years down the line.
I wish that the top US schools get more creative by satisfying the increased demands of applications. While increasing the enrollment of students (like Princeton has done this year) will be the simplest, I can understand that many schools have their own constraints. But still, there exist many other creative options. I have many ideas and would welcome inputs from others as well.
Though I know that this thought process would not benefit me as I am entering college next year, but I definitely wish that this chain of thoughts helps the incoming classes over the next few years.
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