Greater competition for college means higher anxiety

[...] high school guidance counselors and admissions experts say the heightened competition has turned the process into a anxiety-ridden numbers game.

Charter school students in New England submitted the most applications, at nearly seven per student, followed closely by private school students in New England and the Middle States (a category including Washington, D.C., Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands), with more than six applications each, Blankson said.

Home schoolers and public school students in the South and Southwest submitted the fewest, about three each.

Bruce Poch, the dean of admission and executive director of college counseling at Chadwick School, in Palos Verdes Peninsula, Los Angeles County, said admissions had turned into more of a lottery, as students express their fears of rejection by applying to more institutions.

[...] he said, the average acceptance rate at four-year colleges has remained stable at about 65 percent nationwide.