College admissions in the United States

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College admissions in the United States refers to the process of applying for entrance to institutions of higher education for undergraduate study at one of the nation's colleges or universities.^[1][2] For those who intend to attend college immediately after high school, the college search usually begins in the eleventh grade^[3] with most activity taking place during the twelfth grade. Applications to many schools are due in October or November of senior year for Early Decision or Early Action, or in December or January of their senior year for Regular Decision, though the timeline may vary depending on the universities, some having an earlier deadline due to the fact that the admissions process may weigh in more on transcripts. Students at top high schools may often begin the process during their tenth grade or earlier. There are considerable numbers of students who transfer from one college to another, as well as adults older than high school age who apply to college.

Millions of high school students apply to college each year, with approximately 4.23 million in the high school graduating age group in 2018–19 and an estimated 3.68 million high school graduates (3.33 million and 0.35 million coming from public and private schools respectively).^[4] The number of high school graduates is projected to rise to 3.89 million in 2025–26 before falling to 3.71 million in 2027–28. From within this cohort, the number of first-time freshmen in post-secondary fall enrollment was 2.90 million in 2019, divided between 4-year colleges (1.29 million attending public institutions and 0.59 million attending private) and 2-year colleges (approximately 0.95 million public; 0.05 million private).^[5] The number of first-time freshmen is expected to continue increasing, reaching 2.96 million in 2028, maintaining the demand for a college education.

Students can apply to multiple schools and file separate applications to each school. Recent developments such as electronic filing via the Common Application, now used by about 800 schools and handling 25 million applications, have facilitated an increase in the number of applications per student.^[6][7] Around 80 percent of applications were submitted online in 2009.^[8] About a quarter of applicants apply to seven or more schools, paying an average of $40 per application.^[9] Most undergraduate institutions admit students to the entire college as "undeclared" undergraduates and not to a particular department or major, unlike many European universities and American graduate schools, although some undergraduate programs may require a separate application at some universities. As a general rule, admissions to two-year colleges or community colleges are more simple, often requiring only a high school transcript and in some cases, minimum test score.

Recent trends in college admissions include increased numbers of applications, increased interest by students in foreign countries in applying to American universities,^[10] more students applying by an early method,^[8] applications submitted by Internet-based methods including the Common Application and Coalition for College, increased use of consultants, guidebooks, and rankings, and increased use by colleges of waitlists.^[8] These trends have made college admissions a very competitive process, and a stressful one for student, parents and college counselors alike, while colleges are competing for higher rankings, lower admission rates and higher yield rates to boost their prestige and desirability. Admission to U.S. colleges in the aggregate level has become more competitive, however, most colleges admit a majority of those who apply. The selectivity and extreme competition has been very focused in a handful of the most selective colleges.^[6] Schools at the top 100 ranked U.S. News & World Report had an admit rate below 35% for freshmen^[when?], totaling below 200,000 out of 2.90 million total freshmen in all post-secondary institutions.^{[citation needed]}