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Sorry, Recession Won't Get You Into Harvard

Top schools see no application shortage despite economy

By Matt Cantor, Newser Staff

Posted Mar 30, 2009 8:01 AM CDT

(Newser) – Sure, a lot of people are cash-strapped, but don’t get your hopes up that the recession will boost your shot at an Ivy League school. Harvard got a record number of applications this year—29,112, a 6% jump from last year. And pricey universities like Yale, Dartmouth, Brown, Columbia, and Stanford all saw application numbers soar, the New York Times reports. Still, some top smaller schools did see a decline in applications.

Williams College applications dropped 20% from the previous year, Middlebury applications fell almost 12%, and Amherst applications about 1%. But the overall landscape is tough to pigeonhole, the Times notes: Slightly more than half the schools that accept the shared Common Application received more applications this year than they did last year, while slightly less than half received fewer.

Schools like Princeton haven't seen applications drop despite the recession. (Shutterstock)

The door to the Ivies is still tough to open. (Shutterstock)

Applicants' chances at a top school like Harvard haven't gotten better despite the recession. (Shutterstock)

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Sorry, Recession Won't Get You Into Harvard

Top schools see no application shortage despite economy

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If you didn't graduate from Harvard, good luck getting a top job

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Sorry, Recession Won't Get You Into Harvard

Top schools see no application shortage despite economy

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OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

education • Columbia University • Yale University • Ivy League • college admissions • Stanford University • college • Harvard • Dartmouth College • colleges and universities • Middlebury College • Common Application

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Students Revolt Against Big Bank Recruiting

Protests spread across Ivy League campuses

Top Colleges Steer Grads Away from Wall Street

Students, staff encourage grads to expand horizons

New College Rankings: An Ivy Deadheat

Harvard, Princeton top universities list

Ivy League Offers False Hope to Kids It Won't Accept

Elite universities profit from acting interested in unqualified students

Recruiters: Columbia, MIT Are So 'Second-Tier'

If you didn't graduate from Harvard, good luck getting a top job

About Us

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Newser By Users

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What is Newser?