During the recession many thought that applications to some of America's top universities would drop or at least remain the same, however top schools such as the Universities of Pennsylvania, Harvard, Princeton, Brown and more have all seen significant increases in their number of applications.
It is thought that many students became anxious during the economic struggle and therefore submitted applications to more colleges than usual, but why did more apply for the most selective US universities? TSL Education reported that is could be to do with changes in the financial aid policies to some of the top US universities which have made higher education more attractive and possible for low and middle incomes. Financial aid packages offered by some universities allow students to gain higher education without incurring vast amounts of debt. Many schools have made this their commitment with the aim to gain more students from modest backgrounds. For example the University of Pennsylvania increased their undergraduate aid budget by 20% this year.
Another possible change that could have contributed to the increase in applications to more selective US schools is that public universities in America have received cuts in state funding and therefore they have had to increase their fees. Therefore more people are opting to pay their fees to go to a highly selective private university. Although this does cause problems as the best private universities do not have the capacity to enroll this amount of applicants.
TSL Education also reported that US top universities are still committed to supplying the best higher education for those who seek it. Despite the nations economic downturn US universities have still remained to do so which is why many from all over the world are opting to apply to the top private universities in America.