High school students eager to cast a wide net in their college search drove up application volume again last year at the majority of U.S. colleges, according to a recent survey.
For 10 of the past 15 years, more than 70 percent of colleges reported year-to-year increases in the number of applications they received, the National Association for College Admission Counseling reports in its latest survey of members. About one-third of college freshmen in the fall of 2013 had submitted seven or more applications for admission, up 10 percentage points since 2008.
Colleges report 92 percent of applications are received online, up from 85 percent in 2011.
Despite the frenzy around single-digit acceptance rates at the most highly elite colleges, NACAC notes that the average selectivity rate at four-year colleges for fall 2013 was 64.7 percent, up slightly from 63.9 percent in 2012, after a steady decline in recent years.
