What should colleges do to manage the increase in apps?

Agreed. Why would they change anything - these schools love to trumpet the fact that they are seeing more applicants than ever before. It just highlights how prestigious they are. The irony in all of this is that, overall, the number of students applying to college was actually down slightly this year – many colleges will struggle to fill their classes as opposed to being unable to process the number of applications they receive. The gulf between the college “haves” and “have nots” is only going to widen when the number of college age students declines beginning in 2025.