Applying to college ‘ain’t what it used to be’
Students now applying to a greater number of schools
BY SETH MANDEL
Staff Writer

MIGUEL JUAREZ staff Today’s high school students face a greater challenge in getting into the colleges of their choice, and as a result involvement in extracurricular activities is more important than ever.

College applicants looking to follow in the footsteps of their older brother or sister have recently been faced with a harsh reality — it may be necessary to blaze their own trail.

“I think we’ve noted that if a sibling has gone to a particular college two or three years ago with certain credentials, the younger brother or sister needs stronger credentials to get into the same school, and I think that’s hitting home with the families,” said East Brunswick High School guidance counselor Ian Hodos.

One reason for the recent shift is the sheer number of applicants, according to Allentown High School guidance counselor Rich Freccia.

“There’s an increase of the 17-, 18-year-olds applying to college. There’s just more of them,” Freccia said, adding that not only has the number of applicants increased, but the number of applications each student sends out has multiplied as well.

“A kid might be applying to maybe, instead of three or four schools, six to eight schools, or some kids 10 to 12,” he said.

Charles Geran, director of student services for the Brick Township Public School District, said guidance counselors used to advise students to apply only to three, four or five schools, but now “that’s being blown out of the water.”

Sharon Kenny, a guidance counselor at East Brunswick High School, said that applying for early decision, a binding agreement to enroll upon acceptance, used to afford those students a certain advantage, but that advantage has since diminished considerably.

Kenny said that students with high test scores, who would normally be accepted through the regular application process, are applying for early decision, thus strengthening the early applicant pool and making it harder for other students to be accepted through the same process.

Freccia said that while the well-known schools receive the bulk of the applications, many smaller schools offer an education that is comparable, if not superior, to many state schools.

“I think what happens is that students and their parents are more consumer-conscious, so they will apply to the ‘name’ school that has a high known quality, a reputation. The more popular schools have gotten more popular,” the Allentown High School guidance counselor said.