CSULB ranks high in student applications

LONG BEACH - In an article published by "U.S. News & World Report," Cal State Long Beach was recognized as one of the top 10 colleges in the nation receiving the most applications from first-time freshmen out of 1,339 schools that reported application data in the publication's annual survey.Using data from fall 2009 admission, Cal State Long Beach ranked No. 5 in the nation with 45, 771 first-time freshmen applications. The Long Beach campus was the only regional university in the top 10. The other nine were all national universities, including No. 1 UCLA (55,708 applications), No. 2 St. John's University (52,980), No. 3 UC Berkeley (48,650) and No. 4 UC San Diego (47,046). "This is another positive outcome of having so many faculty and staff dedicated to student success," said CSULB president F. King Alexander. "Ranking fifth in the nation in freshmen applications clearly demonstrates that parents and students place great value in a CSULB education." The "U.S. News & World Report" article noted that colleges and universities have reported record-breaking increases in the number of student applications over the past few years. That was clearly the case for Cal State Long Beach as its number of first-time freshmen applications grew from 45,771 in 2009 to 47,673 in 2010. The reporting data show that only 205 colleges received more than 10,000 student applications, and the 10 colleges that received the most averaged more than 46,000. One reason for the recent increase in applications, according to the College Board, is a change in applicant behavior in which a small percentage of high school seniors are applying to more schools than other students. The article also said college counselors suggest students apply to 5-8 schools, but some students apply to more than 10 colleges. "U.S. News" surveyed more than 1,700 colleges and universities for its 2010 survey of undergraduate programs and publication officials believe their data is the most accurate and detailed collection of college facts and figures of its kind. While "U.S. News" uses much of its survey data to rank schools for its annual Best Colleges rankings, the publication is now expecting to produce lists of data, separate from the overall rankings, meant to provide students and parents a means to find which schools excel, or have room to grow, in specific areas that are important to them.

********** Published: February 03, 2011 - Volume 9 - Issue 42