<p>I disagree about a shrinking applicant base for the IVYs. If you look at the global trends, there is increasing awareness among international applicants about the quality of US colleges. The economic boom in Asian countries is creating a growing middle class that is looking everywhere for quality education for the kids. When we visit India, the only thing we hear about is education in the US. All of my cousins in India want to come here for their college! And, they are pretty good academically. What the IVys may have to worry about is a paying customer base in the future. A lot of internationals want gobs of financial aid, and so will the domestic URMs I think. IVYs should keep their huge endowments growing; they will have no problem getting to 2% selectivity and staying there!</p>