Are the number of applications all time high?

[giacomo]

The Wisconsin-Madison thread got me thinking.

I have a feeling that it might be.

*Is

Edited February 1, 2012 by giacomo

[SocHope]

I've heard a lot of anecdotal evidence that people are applying to graduate school in droves because they can't find a job (thank you very much, economy). The director of my MA program said yield rate has increased fairly dramatically since 2008.

[socihealth]

Many schools post info about how many applications they receive per year. i wonder if there is a source that has info about trends in application rates over time across schools.

[Supernovasky]

Iiiinteresting....

Could be a proposed thesis for getting into graduate school next year, haha...

How the number of applications for MA/PhD programs correlate with the economy.

[quantitative]

I've heard a lot of anecdotal evidence that people are applying to graduate school in droves because they can't find a job (thank you very much, economy). The director of my MA program said yield rate has increased fairly dramatically since 2008.

Correlation is not causation SocHope! (However, I wouldn't be surprised for the theory to hold true when you're looking at Masters. I'd think Ph.D applicants were more serious about graduate school to begin with and would treat it as less of a detour from the awful job market. I'm thinking it's simply due to the rising numbers of college graduates.)

[SocHope]

Correlation is not causation SocHope! (However, I wouldn't be surprised for the theory to hold true when you're looking at Masters. I'd think Ph.D applicants were more serious about graduate school to begin with and would treat it as less of a detour from the awful job market. I'm thinking it's simply due to the rising numbers of college graduates.)

Yep, that's why I qualified it by saying it's anecdotal. Everyone I've spoken to about it seems to take it as a matter of fact though.

[sleepycat]

I wonder if there is any backlash against the schools that had outrageous numbers last year, like NYU.

[sciencegirl]

@sleepycat... what do you mean?

[sleepycat]

Like they wouldn't get as many apps because people would assume it is too high of a risk to apply. So instead of 460 they get 400 applications. Still not very good chances but enough to make a difference.

[sciencegirl]

Hmm... interesting. I don't think "competitive-ness" necessarily would turn away a person from NYU. I think if you are going to want to go to graduate school in a place as expensive as lower Manhattan, the application fee is sort of a non-issue. (The only limit to the amount of schools you can apply to are your own finances). I truthfully could not afford to go to graduate school in New York unless the stipend was in the $40,000 range). I live here now and it is by far the most expensive place to live in the US.

In terms of my own psychology in applying, the major reason that I didn't apply to Madison was because of its reputation in years past of not providing good funding and the type of competitive cohort environment this created... and ironically, this year, it seems that they are admitting less people but giving them good funding. I wonder if I had known about this if this would actually be more of an incentive to apply for me personally. Add to this situation, the general human behavior among type A successful people of desiring something more when more people want it (ie, over the past few decades, as Ivy League schools have become even more competitive to get into, their application numbers have steadily increased.)

[sleepycat]

Well, I tend to get scared off easily and doubt my abilities often, which is no doubt why I don't tend to apply to top-tier schools. It is a curse that a B+ personality has to deal with. Although I am relatively calm and have high hopes for my chances even based on the acceptance rates for NYU. I am also basing this off how there is a backlash at UG institutions in terms of tuition and support when they rank in the Top 10 of expensive schools. Sure different situation, but semi-similar. idk

[fosoc]

UCSD had 30% more applicants this year than last year. (Info from DGS)

[flowerblitz]

NYU got a bit less than last year: they said 410, expecting a cohort of 8.

[FertMigMort]

In terms of my own psychology in applying, the major reason that I didn't apply to Madison was because of its reputation in years past of not providing good funding and the type of competitive cohort environment this created... and ironically, this year, it seems that they are admitting less people but giving them good funding. I wonder if I had known about this if this would actually be more of an incentive to apply for me personally. Add to this situation, the general human behavior among type A successful people of desiring something more when more people want it (ie, over the past few decades, as Ivy League schools have become even more competitive to get into, their application numbers have steadily increased.)

I've heard anectdotally from friends at Wisconsin that they are thinking about changing their admissions style. Instead of large cohorts they are going for smaller mostly funded cohorts. I know from working on the recruitment committee in my program last year that this was echoed by the recruits accepted into both departments.

As to the larger topic at hand, my friend who was on the applications committee this year said our program had 1.2 times the number of applicants that we did last year. That's about double the number of students that applied when I was admitted, back in 2008.

Edited February 16, 2012 by FertMigMort

[sleepycat]

NYU got a bit less than last year: they said 410, expecting a cohort of 8.

So I was right. lol *fingers crossed I'm part of the 8*

[sociology27]

Ugh, it's frustrating to know NYU stuff went out for the international applicants but nobody's heard yet domestically. They should have just done them all in one day.