As spring is approaching, the college acceptance season is in full gear. Many colleges are sending out decisions for early action and regular decisions. Teens everywhere are anxiously awaiting the emails telling them their decisions are ready. But this year colleges have been more selective and acceptance rates are dropping

We are seeing a trend in many colleges across Virginia and the United States with an increase in applicants. This is due to a significant population boom in 2007, the birth year of the Class of 2029. In 2000 the population was 6.1 billion and by 2007 it was 6.6 billion. In 2007 the United States had 4,316,233 births, which is the largest number of births ever reported.

So what does this mean for college admissions? This year for the class of 2029 there was a significant increase in applicants and a decrease in acceptances. For example, JMU received 44,782 applicants for the class of 2029 early action which is a significant increase from the class of 2028 which received 40.232 applications.

Students may find that colleges are becoming even more selective than usual or colleges that are not usually very selective are starting to become selective. This will bring challenges to the class of 2029 when applying to colleges. Students may want to consider spending extra time on their essays and working on good SAT scores to boost their applications to stand out.

While this may seem daunting, many/most colleges still have attainable acceptance rates. There is just going to be more competition this year especially in the more prestigious universities. And for the younger students, fear not. This increased competition is not permanent. In the following years after 2007 the birth rate declined again and went back to previous levels

So for all students applying to colleges or waiting to hear back, just remember you are up against a lot of people, but have faith, it will all work out in the end.