Applying to college in 2019? What are some of the trends this year? Here are three important ones:
Early decision-The trend of accepting more and more students through early decision continues this year. Students who apply under an early decision plan and who are accepted are committed to attending that college. Colleges want to lock in students if possible. Some colleges are filling half or more of their incoming class through early decision. Particularly noticeable this year was the increase in the number of colleges offering not only the more traditional early decision admission plan but also offering a second round in early decision II. In fact, some colleges have two rounds of early action and two rounds of early decision on top of regular decision. For years, Boston College offered early action (no commitment) but not early decision. This year, Boston College offers early decision but not early action. Basically, these application plans change from year to year so a student has to check carefully.
SAT Subject Tests-Only a handful of colleges require or recommend SAT Subject Tests, with the number steadily declining every year. The problem is that many students wisely view “recommended” to mean “required.” This can put students in a difficult position. Let’s hope that the trend in the declining number of colleges even mentioning SAT Subject Tests continues.
Tuition reductions-Several colleges this year have become more transparent in their fees. In the past, colleges would often offer merit scholarships as an inducement to attract accepted applicants. At some colleges, since virtually all accepted applicants were offered a merit scholarship, the tuition quoted on colleges’ websites and literature was actually inflated. Some colleges have reversed this trend by reducing tuition to a more realistic level. Even though merit scholarships were reduced proportionately, families have a better idea of costs from the beginning.
