The Common Application recently published a report of application trends through February 15, 2022.
Here are the big takeaways:
1) Since 2019-2020 there has been a 20.8% increase in applications submitted to colleges through the Common App.
2) Students are applying to an average of 5.6 schools.
3) Applications across underrepresented subgroups have increased at a higher rate than those from non-underrepresented groups during the same time frame (17% vs. 13%).
4) There has been a 21% increase in first-generation college applications submitted since 2019-2020.
5) 56% of college applicants come from the highest income (top quintile) zip codes and 6% come from the bottom quintile.
6) Geographically, application growth is quite strong, with the exception of the Northeast, which has seen a decrease in students applying to college. Notably, South Carolina has seen a 61% increase in applications, Texas has seen a 40% increase and North Dakota saw a 38% increase in applications from students within their states.
7) 48% of applicants reported standardized test scores, which was an increase from last year's 44% submission rate. Yet, males are reporting test scores at a higher rate than females.
8) Interestingly, in assessing the percentage of in-state applicants by state, Ohio leads the list with 96% of applications being submitted from within the state.
For detailed data and analysis, you can review the report here.