<p>It certainly could be that more than one factor played into the drop in apps. My kid is one who decided not to attend the year before after being accepted, partly due to some of the other issues (besides the essay) that have been discussed on this thread. Hard to tease them apart… but I will say after having spent a long time on this board, it is stunning how little information many students collect about a school before they decide to apply and eventually attend. Although the sexual assault issues and student protests loom large for those currently at Swat or have a strong interest in the school, I bet if you polled those who were accepted this year, probably 20% of them have heard about either of those issues. Many, many students and parents just accept what is on the school website, what is said on the tour, and the USNWR ranking as what they need to know about the school before deciding. So my guess is that admissions is right about some of the reason for the drop (extra essay), but not all of it.</p>