The process of applying to colleges used to be simple. In earlier times, students often considered going to a university in their home state or a nearby campus. Few students felt the need to apply to more than three or four colleges. Many applied to just one. Factors in choosing a college were typically based on available majors, location, cost and difficulty of admission. The college process as a whole was fairly low-key.

In recent years, however, the application process can be compared to survival of the fittest.

Media headlines might read “Universities send record number of rejections” or “Students feel the high anxiety of getting into college.”

Aside from the mere 7.4 percent acceptance rate at Ivy League schools such as Princeton, the average acceptance rate of a state college can range anywhere from 40 to 60 percent.

The main reason why acceptance to a four-year college is harder than ever has one simple explanation: supply and demand.

As rates began to decrease in the early ‘90s, the numbers of high school graduates have gradually risen year after year and the number of available slots began to lessen, resulting in the tougher competition for the same seat. Although numbers of competing graduates were expected to decline after the 2008 recession, they are expected to remain high until about 2022.

Another reason for fewer acceptances to colleges is the high numbers of foreign student applicants in the past few years, especially those from Asia and Latin America. American students find themselves competing with students from around the world. The American dream of higher education is not just for Americans.

Janie Alcala, associate director of the office of admissions at Texas A&M University said, “I wish students knew to contact their universities of interest and research the steps of the application process before their senior year. Pre-planning can eliminate some of the trials and errors of applying to school. The sooner students conduct research on the application process and what it takes to be admitted, the better they understand which classes they need to take and how they should organize their past, current and future activities.”

College counselor, Randy Fong, said, “Colleges are getting more and more applications because of the popular use of the common app. The common app allows us to reach out to many colleges at once. The Ivies and such schools as Stanford, New York, and the University of Southern California have seen a record number of recruiting efforts.

“Students applying to these selective colleges are recommended to take advanced courses, show progression in GPAs, take the SATs and ACTs, and spend time working on their essays,” said Fong.

Former Sacred Hearts counselor, Donna Ramos, is now a college admissions officer at Pacific University.

“On the application, there are various factors that make the application ‘attractive,’ GPAs and test scores for starters. Essays are great for borderline students, which can make or break the application. For students who are above average, colleges might not even look at their essay,” said Ramos.