Some of this was self-inflicted with TO. They didn’t have to go TO. Florida wasn’t TO and FSU had a record number of applicants.
Let’s be honest…admissions is big business. If they wanted to shrink the apps they could…but they don’t want to…there’s no incentive on the schools.
Maybe something like 3 free apps. The next 5 are a small fee like $20. After that it’s $100.
You could also limit the apps to 10 with a ranking. Have a default option if you don’t get into any of the 10.