Hey there! I'm doing some research on college applications and I'm curious, does anyone know which universities traditionally get the most applications from prospective students? I'm interested to know how competitive these schools are.
From the data, the universities in the US that usually receive the highest number of applications are both in the University of California (UC) system, which are UCLA and UC Berkeley. Both schools receive well over 100,000 applicants annually.
UCLA consistently tops the list, being the most applied-to four-year university in the country. In 2020, for example, UCLA received over 139,000 applications for just around 6,000 spots in its freshman class.
UC Berkeley is typically second, receiving over 108,000 applications in 2020. This makes it similarly competitive, with a low acceptance rate.
Other universities that attract a lot of applicants include University of California, San Diego (UCSD), and University of Southern California (USC). Additionally, Ivy League schools like Harvard and Columbia receive a large number of applications each year, although not as high as the UC schools.
These high application numbers definitely translate to lower acceptance rates and increased competitiveness. However, it's also worth noting that applications aren't the only factor in competition. For instance, Ivy League schools might have fewer applicants, but they also have a smaller class size, which contributes to their low acceptance rates. Furthermore, the applicant pool for these schools tend to be highly self-selective, so the quality of applicants is often higher.
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