Tulane does have merit. It came on my son’s radar first for being mid sized, then for being in an interesting city, then the more school specific details were appealing. He did not look at any other southern schools although a friend is headed to Wake Forest. A friend in California also said it was a hot school at their high school.
Northeastern is hot
Northeastern is hot in MN as well.
A list of the colleges with the largest increase in applications and corresponding decreases in acceptance rate over the past 5 years is below. I am comparing an average of 2018-19 and 2017-18 to an average of 2013-14 and 2012-13. I only included colleges with a 25th percentile ACT of >20 in 2018-19.
- University of Dallas -- Applications up by 3.6x, Acceptance rate down by 2.1x
- Georgia Tech -- Applications up by 2.3x, Acceptance rate down by 2.4x
- Colby College -- Applications up by 2.2x, Acceptance rate down by 1.9x
- Savannah State -- Applications up by 2.2x, Acceptance rate down by 1.9x
- New Mexico Tech -- Applications up by 1.9x, Acceptance rate down by 2.5x
- St. John's -- Applications up by 2.3x, Acceptance rate down by 1.5x
- Trinity University -- Applications up by 1.8x, Acceptance rate down by 1.8x
- Regis University -- Applications up by 2.2x, Acceptance rate down by 1.3x
- Pitt at Johnstown -- Applications up by 2.2x, Acceptance rate down by 1.3x
- Howard University -- Applications up by 1.8x, Acceptance rate down by 1.4x
Other Noteworthy
UCLA – Applications up by 1.6x, Acceptance rate down by 1.6x
Moorhead University – Applications up by 1.8x, Acceptance rate down by 1.3x
U Wisconsin – Applications up by 1.8x, Acceptance rate down by 1.3x
UCSC – Applications up by 1.8x, Acceptance rate down by 1.3x
UC Irvine – Applications up by 1.7x, Acceptance rate down by 1.3x
Boston University – Applications up by 1.5x, Acceptance rate down by 2.0x
Seven top kids from my daughter’s California high school went to Colgate last year.
Both Tulane and Northeastern have done a good job in marketing themselves and offering merit aid to high stats students.
Most of the obvious ones have been mentioned, such as Northeastern and Elon. Fair or not, “hot” schools are ones that often get on the radars of upper-class families and higher. Fun activity: go to YouTube and watch a video from a prep school, such as Hun in Princeton, NJ. Lots of Northeastern sweatshirts, and lots of Elon (presumably a top choice for the B students from that school).
For public schools, UVA always remains a “hot” target since it’s a tough, tough admit, even for VA HS students. I like whoever mentioned Purdue. In my day (I graduated HS in 1989), Purdue was a breeze to get into. I was accepted simply by returning its attached application sent to me in the mail. Now, it’s much more selective. Richmond keeps climbing that US News thingie. Others? U of Washington because of Seattle and tech. UGA because of HOPE/Zell Miller.
Oh, and as a current FL resident, any school in FL! Really. UCF. USF. Normally, the non-flagships would not have such low acceptance rates. Heck, I know of kids from the northeast who specifically come down here for Rollins, Eckerd, Florida Atlantic, and even Nova Southeastern! Florida has always been many east coasters’ idea of paradise (more than CA or HI), and tons of people aim for FL schools and FL jobs after college. It’s not paradise down here, but that doesn’t stop them from coming!
The five current women’s colleges that used to be part of the Seven Sisters have made a rebound (if they were ever truly down), as female applicants who might not have thought about the mostly single-sex environment realize how good and prestigious these schools are (coed schools continue to dominate, and most graduating girls prefer coed colleges). Many women’s colleges have enrollments under 1000 (and in many cases well under 1000 students: Mills, Hollins, Salem, Meredith, Wesleyan (GA), and so on), so the five sisters are doing more than fine.
@Data10 Last cycle BU had a 2000 drop in applications.
Hasn’t Northeastern been doing this marketing for years as part of its focus on climbing the rankings?
Sure, and the result is it being a “hot” school now on a national level.
I"m in central CT–Hartford area. Certain mid-Atlantic and northern-southern (? not a real thing but ykwim) schools seem to be super popular here right now: UMD, College of Charleston, and Georgia in particular in our town. I’m also a teacher in an affluent Hartford suburb, and the same holds there as well.
College of Charleston has put additional resources into its Honor’s College and has a great location in a gorgeous, historical city.
University of Georgia has a pretty sophisticated student body. Really strong, well established Honors Program.
University of Florida is definitely a hot school now. Due, in large part, to state wide scholarships for Florida residents.
The applications totals as listed in iPEDS/CDS/Federal reporting/… is below. BU has had an increasing number of applications in each of the past 7 cycles, for a total of a 71% increase in applications over 7 years. BU has had a much higher rate of increase in applications during this period than any of HYPSM… , and BU also gets more total applications than any of HYPSM… BU also surpasses Northeastern and most others that have been mentioned in this thread by both metrics.
Boston University Applications
2018-19: 65k applicants
2017-18: 61k applicants
2016-17: 57k applicants
2015-16: 55k applicants
2014-15: 54k applicants
2013-14: 44k applicants
2012-13: 42k applicants
2011-12 38k applicants
Agree with @DadTwoGirls about the popularity of affordable, in-state options. Our state flagship, University of Colorado-Boulder, is quite popular with high stats kids and their families. It is an affordable option with well-regarded engineering and science departments.
Other “hot” options from the 2019 cycle: Cal Poly SLO, Michigan, Carleton, and Indiana.
Va Tech
Mid-Atlantic/Southern schools becoming viable and popular options for those in the northeast. I believe it is due to cost, weather in the NE, and future job/cost of living options in the NE. Many are getting out of doge.
I notice Colby is working hard to increase their applications.
I mentioned Colby earlier as well. Colby is interesting in that the number of applicants had little change from 2011-14, then suddenly exploded, with applications nearly doubling over the span of 2 years, as listed below. The sharp application increase coincided with the year that they dropped the supplemental essay from the application requirements. They also charge no application fee and recently became test optional.
2011-12 to 2014-15 – 5k applicants
2015-16 – 8k applicants
2016-17 – 10k applicants
2017-18 – 11k applicants
2018-19 – 12k applicants
Colby’s increase in applications also notably coincides with the arrival of its most recent president in the summer of 2014.
It’s amazing the impact that improving football programs have on school popularity (or basketball). UCF and USF are massive but, in many respects, were considered commuter schools for many years. Now they get the football revenue (I remember when USF didn’t have a team - not that long ago) and dorms go up, campus gets renovated, etc. Not sure where that money goes but it certainly creates excitement and leads to other large donations.
UCF in particular is a rising star in FL right now. Just ten years ago the conversationw as almost exclusively UF / FSU. Now it includes UCF and USF. (USF is poorly named as it’s not in south FL).
Also University of South Carolina. Very hot here. I think that’s a regional or east coast thing. It’s funny how many refer to it as USC and expect you to think of South Carolina instead of that “never heard of it” school out in Pasadena. What are these people thinking? Haven’t they ever watched the Rose Bowl Parade and Bowl game? That was a tradition in my house growing up. Never missed either. Mom and I would watch the parade and Dad and I the game. Equally spectaculor. I can still hear Keith Jackson calling it “The Grand Daddy of Them All!”
For the record, USC is not located in Pasadena and their home stadium is the LA Coliseum but I get your point.
Popular OOS colleges from Ds high school;
Tulane - private, merit, in south with decent weather, great town NOLA, free application, top 100, community service oriented, and “fun”. 40% Jewish is a big draw here.
Indiana - large big ten school with good merit and school spirit. Their highly ranked Kelley School of Business is a big draw and direct admit for students with good stats.
Arizona State (ASU) great weather, excellent Barrett Honors College, some good majors/programs.
CSU Boulder - great school spirit, excellent outdoor sports, solid back-up for above average stat students.
Northwestern - great combination of excellent academics and Big Ten sports/school spirit. Popular city of Chicago with lots of opportunities for internships and research. Great alternative to the high stat student not interested in or getting into other Top 25 colleges.
Vanderbilt - great academic institution in the south, with D1 sports in a the really fun and vibrant city of Nashville.