50 colleges where applications are on the rise compared to pre-COVID

Tero Vesalainen // Shutterstock This summer, high school students worldwide will begin researching the colleges that best suit their ambitions for the future, sending millions of applications to their top schools by the fall. Numerade analyzed National Center for Education Statistics data to rank the 50 colleges where applications are growing the fastest. To be included, colleges and universities had to receive at least 2,000 applications in the 2022-2023 school year and offer four-year degrees. They are ranked by the percent increase in applications from the 2019-2020 school year to the 2022-2023 school year, the latest data available. College application volumes have grown steadily over the past decade, plateauing in 2020 and rising again the following year. The COVID-19 pandemic presented a blow to the college experience, altering it completely and pushing enrollees into online courses they didn’t intend to take. Applications have seen growth, but by 2022, around 1.5 million fewer students were enrolled in college than before the pandemic. Some schools have continued to grow their applications by more than 100% from 2019-2022 despite survey data suggesting that the overall enrollment decline is primarily due to the belief that a college degree holds less value today than in previous decades. That’s despite evidence of a growing earnings gap between young people with college degrees and those without. The typical college degree recipient can earn $20,000 more annually when entering the workforce than their peers without a degree, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In the fall of 2022, prospective first-time undergraduate students sent more than 13 million applications to U.S. schools. Technical schools, as well as those focused on nursing and private Christian colleges, made up a number of the top schools for post-COVID application growth, according to NCES data. Read on to see which U.S. colleges and universities saw the largest growth in applications, as well as their admissions growth. #50. Bethune-Cookman University James R. Martin // Shutterstock Located in Daytona Beach, Florida -Total applicants in the 2022-23 school year: 12,818 — 81.0% more than in 2019 — 138.3% change from 2012 – Students admitted in the 2022-23 school year: 10,891 — 83.0% change from 2019 — 175.5% change from 2012 #49. Clemson University Canva Located in Clemson, South Carolina -Total applicants in the 2022-23 school year: 52,819 — 81.7% more than in 2019 — 209.4% change from 2012 – Students admitted in the 2022-23 school year: 22,704 — 52.4% change from 2019 — 110.2% change from 2012 #48. Southern Illinois University-Carbondale Wirestock Creators // Shutterstock Located in Carbondale, Illinois -Total applicants in the 2022-23 school year: 9,771 — 81.7% more than in 2019 — -32.8% change from 2012 – Students admitted in the 2022-23 school year: 8,940 — 150.5% change from 2019 — 19.6% change from 2012 #47. The University of Montana Canva Located in Missoula, Montana -Total applicants in the 2022-23 school year: 8,943 — 82.1% more than in 2019 — 67.9% change from 2012 – Students admitted in the 2022-23 school year: 8,530 — 84.9% change from 2019 — 70.4% change from 2012 #46. Schreiner University Canva Located in Kerrville, Texas -Total applicants in the 2022-23 school year: 2,202 — 84.4% more than in 2019 — 187.1% change from 2012 – Students admitted in the 2022-23 school year: 1,876 — 68.6% change from 2019 — 156.6% change from 2012 #45. Indiana State University Canva Located in Terre Haute, Indiana -Total applicants in the 2022-23 school year: 18,531 — 85.2% more than in 2019 — 73.0% change from 2012 – Students admitted in the 2022-23 school year: 17,105 — 90.8% change from 2019 — 85.0% change from 2012 #44. University of Michigan-Dearborn Susan Montgomery // Shutterstock Located in Dearborn, Michigan -Total applicants in the 2022-23 school year: 12,026 — 85.9% more than in 2019 — 158.5% change from 2012 – Students admitted in the 2022-23 school year: 6,506 — 62.3% change from 2019 — 124.3% change from 2012 #43. College of Charleston Canva Located in Charleston, South Carolina -Total applicants in the 2022-23 school year: 22,020 — 86.9% more than in 2019 — 98.6% change from 2012 – Students admitted in the 2022-23 school year: 16,666 — 80.6% change from 2019 — 104.5% change from 2012 #42. The College of Idaho Canva Located in Caldwell, Idaho -Total applicants in the 2022-23 school year: 4,490 — 87.2% more than in 2019 — 223.5% change from 2012 – Students admitted in the 2022-23 school year: 2,044 — 75.3% change from 2019 — 126.9% change from 2012 #41. Caldwell University quiggyt4 // Shutterstock Located in Caldwell, New Jersey -Total applicants in the 2022-23 school year: 6,649 — 88.5% more than in 2019 — 153.3% change from 2012 – Students admitted in the 2022-23 school year: 4,413 — 34.2% change from 2019 — 174.4% change from 2012 #40. Grace College and Theological Seminary Canva Located in Winona Lake, Indiana -Total applicants in the 2022-23 school year: 4,071 — 89.4% more than in 2019 — 64.8% change from 2012 – Students admitted in the 2022-23 school year: 3,445 — 100.6% change from 2019 — 53.2% change from 2012 #39. Champlain College John Arehart // Shutterstock Located in Burlington, Vermont -Total applicants in the 2022-23 school year: 6,940 — 91.2% more than in 2019 — 56.2% change from 2012 – Students admitted in the 2022-23 school year: 3,864 — 25.0% change from 2019 — 17.6% change from 2012 #38. University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Joe Koshollek/NCAA Photos // Getty Images Located in Stevens Point, Wisconsin -Total applicants in the 2022-23 school year: 8,120 — 94.0% more than in 2019 — 59.4% change from 2012 – Students admitted in the 2022-23 school year: 7,231 — 104.4% change from 2019 — 87.8% change from 2012 #37. University of Wisconsin-Stout Ken Wolter // Shutterstock Located in Menomonie, Wisconsin -Total applicants in the 2022-23 school year: 6,231 — 94.6% more than in 2019 — 83.8% change from 2012 – Students admitted in the 2022-23 school year: 5,378 — 85.5% change from 2019 — 79.5% change from 2012 #36. University of South Alabama Chad Robertson Media // Shutterstock Located in Mobile, Alabama -Total applicants in the 2022-23 school year: 12,550 — 97.6% more than in 2019 — 163.1% change from 2012 – Students admitted in the 2022-23 school year: 8,203 — 64.2% change from 2019 — 97.2% change from 2012 #35. California Institute of Technology Ken Wolter // Shutterstock Located in Pasadena, California -Total applicants in the 2022-23 school year: 16,626 — 98.7% more than in 2019 — 218.2% change from 2012 – Students admitted in the 2022-23 school year: 448 — -16.6% change from 2019 — -32.8% change from 2012 #34. University of Wisconsin-Superior Ken Wolter // Shutterstock Located in Superior, Wisconsin -Total applicants in the 2022-23 school year: 2,319 — 98.9% more than in 2019 — 139.3% change from 2012 – Students admitted in the 2022-23 school year: 2,217 — 131.9% change from 2019 — 156.0% change from 2012 #33. Arizona State University Campus Immersion University of College // Shutterstock Located in Tempe, Arizona -Total applicants in the 2022-23 school year: 68,789 — 101.2% more than in 2019 — 131.4% change from 2012 – Students admitted in the 2022-23 school year: 61,739 — 108.8% change from 2019 — 133.6% change from 2012 #32. Northwest Nazarene University Scott Taetsch/NCAA Photos // Getty Images Located in Nampa, Idaho -Total applicants in the 2022-23 school year: 3,394 — 103.7% more than in 2019 — 241.8% change from 2012 – Students admitted in the 2022-23 school year: 2,993 — 110.0% change from 2019 — 348.7% change from 2012 #31. Fort Valley State University Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post // Getty Images Located in Fort Valley, Georgia -Total applicants in the 2022-23 school year: 6,247 — 104.2% more than in 2019 — -14.9% change from 2012 – Students admitted in the 2022-23 school year: 2,692 — 69.8% change from 2019 — 14.9% change from 2012 #30. Morgan State University Anna Moneymaker // Getty Images Located in Baltimore -Total applicants in the 2022-23 school year: 16,845 — 106.6% more than in 2019 — 233.5% change from 2012 – Students admitted in the 2022-23 school year: 14,382 — 160.0% change from 2019 — 383.6% change from 2012 #29. Bennington College denton.loving // Shutterstock Located in Bennington, Vermont -Total applicants in the 2022-23 school year: 2,801 — 108.4% more than in 2019 — 126.6% change from 2012 – Students admitted in the 2022-23 school year: 1,269 — 55.3% change from 2019 — 62.9% change from 2012 #28. Colgate University James Aloysius Mahan V // Shutterstock Located in Hamilton, New York -Total applicants in the 2022-23 school year: 21,109 — 112.1% more than in 2019 — 170.7% change from 2012 – Students admitted in the 2022-23 school year: 2,624 — 16.8% change from 2019 — 14.6% change from 2012 #27. D’Youville University Spiroview Inc // Shutterstock Located in Buffalo, New York -Total applicants in the 2022-23 school year: 3,115 — 116.5% more than in 2019 — 174.4% change from 2012 – Students admitted in the 2022-23 school year: 2,618 — 106.6% change from 2019 — 180.6% change from 2012 #26. University of Colorado Colorado Springs Rosemarie Mosteller // Shutterstock Located in Colorado Springs, Colorado -Total applicants in the 2022-23 school year: 14,751 — 119.2% more than in 2019 — 66.7% change from 2012 – Students admitted in the 2022-23 school year: 12,504 — 113.2% change from 2019 — 137.1% change from 2012 #25. Anderson University Canva Located in Anderson, South Carolina -Total applicants in the 2022-23 school year: 5,043 — 121.5% more than in 2019 — 188.2% change from 2012 – Students admitted in the 2022-23 school year: 2,289 — 46.3% change from 2019 — 83.7% change from 2012 #24. Auburn University Rob Hainer // Shutterstock Located in Auburn, Alabama -Total applicants in the 2022-23 school year: 45,693 — 126.1% more than in 2019 — 161.7% change from 2012 – Students admitted in the 2022-23 school year: 19,988 — 22.6% change from 2019 — 48.2% change from 2012 #23. Bethany College Canva Located in Bethany, West Virginia -Total applicants in the 2022-23 school year: 2,651 — 130.5% more than in 2019 — 74.1% change from 2012 – Students admitted in the 2022-23 school year: 1,721 — 57.0% change from 2019 — 162.7% change from 2012 #22. Lewis-Clark State College Education Images/Universal Images Group // Getty Images Located in Lewiston, Idaho -Total applicants in the 2022-23 school year: 3,938 — 134.0% more than in 2019 — 291.1% change from 2012 – Students admitted in the 2022-23 school year: 3,417 — 103.5% change from 2019 — 242.4% change from 2012 #21. Ave Maria University Canva Located in Ave Maria, Florida -Total applicants in the 2022-23 school year: 3,404 — 135.4% more than in 2019 — 174.1% change from 2012 – Students admitted in the 2022-23 school year: 1,505 — 22.7% change from 2019 — 85.8% change from 2012 #20. Chicago State University Canva Located in Chicago -Total applicants in the 2022-23 school year: 7,404 — 136.9% more than in 2019 — 88.0% change from 2012 – Students admitted in the 2022-23 school year: 3,592 — 81.4% change from 2019 — 141.6% change from 2012 #19. Fisk University KennStilger47 // Shutterstock Located in Nashville, Tennessee -Total applicants in the 2022-23 school year: 7,268 — 139.6% more than in 2019 — 163.5% change from 2012 – Students admitted in the 2022-23 school year: 5,158 — 82.0% change from 2019 — 1,678.6% change from 2012 #18. Clarke University PiXel Perfect PiX // Shutterstock Located in Dubuque, Iowa -Total applicants in the 2022-23 school year: 2,665 — 148.1% more than in 2019 — 157.7% change from 2012 – Students admitted in the 2022-23 school year: 2,260 — 124.2% change from 2019 — 196.2% change from 2012 #17. Converse University Canva Located in Spartanburg, South Carolina -Total applicants in the 2022-23 school year: 2,917 — 150.8% more than in 2019 — 110.9% change from 2012 – Students admitted in the 2022-23 school year: 1,621 — 56.0% change from 2019 — 128.3% change from 2012 #16. Morehouse College Erik S. Lesser // Getty Images Located in Atlanta -Total applicants in the 2022-23 school year: 5,221 — 157.2% more than in 2019 — 102.8% change from 2012 – Students admitted in the 2022-23 school year: 3,133 — 54.6% change from 2019 — 83.1% change from 2012 #15. South Carolina State University Canva Located in Orangeburg, South Carolina -Total applicants in the 2022-23 school year: 6,833 — 159.7% more than in 2019 — 124.8% change from 2012 – Students admitted in the 2022-23 school year: 5,733 — 228.0% change from 2019 — 94.2% change from 2012 #14. Westminster College CrispyPork // Shutterstock Located in Fulton, Missouri -Total applicants in the 2022-23 school year: 2,051 — 160.3% more than in 2019 — 44.4% change from 2012 – Students admitted in the 2022-23 school year: 1,544 — 103.4% change from 2019 — 51.2% change from 2012 #13. Edward Waters University Sean Rayford // Getty Images Located in Jacksonville, Florida -Total applicants in the 2022-23 school year: 8,988 — 161.0% more than in 2019 — 363.8% change from 2012 – Students admitted in the 2022-23 school year: 7,509 — 256.7% change from 2019 — 1,240.9% change from 2012 #12. Dallas Baptist University Philip Lange // Shutterstock Located in Dallas -Total applicants in the 2022-23 school year: 8,519 — 162.9% more than in 2019 — 216.5% change from 2012 – Students admitted in the 2022-23 school year: 7,784 — 167.3% change from 2019 — 600.6% change from 2012 #11. La Roche University Matej Kastelic // Shutterstock Located in Pittsburgh -Total applicants in the 2022-23 school year: 3,222 — 164.1% more than in 2019 — 103.0% change from 2012 – Students admitted in the 2022-23 school year: 3,137 — 158.6% change from 2019 — 280.2% change from 2012 #10. Columbia College Matej Kastelic // Shutterstock Located in Columbia, South Carolina -Total applicants in the 2022-23 school year: 2,176 — 166.3% more than in 2019 — 181.9% change from 2012 – Students admitted in the 2022-23 school year: 2,135 — 170.6% change from 2019 — 327.9% change from 2012 #9. Hawai’i Pacific University Theodore Trimmer // Shutterstock Located in Honolulu -Total applicants in the 2022-23 school year: 13,354 — 179.0% more than in 2019 — 223.4% change from 2012 – Students admitted in the 2022-23 school year: 11,631 — 224.7% change from 2019 — 290.3% change from 2012 #8. Regent University Canva Located in Virginia Beach, Virginia -Total applicants in the 2022-23 school year: 6,989 — 198.2% more than in 2019 — 362.8% change from 2012 – Students admitted in the 2022-23 school year: 2,260 — 12.7% change from 2019 — 82.0% change from 2012 #7. Bethany College Canva Located in Lindsborg, Kansas -Total applicants in the 2022-23 school year: 3,521 — 202.8% more than in 2019 — 420.9% change from 2012 – Students admitted in the 2022-23 school year: 2,325 — 195.4% change from 2019 — 491.6% change from 2012 #6. Paul Quinn College Canva Located in Dallas -Total applicants in the 2022-23 school year: 2,048 — 207.0% more than in 2019 — 857.0% change from 2012 – Students admitted in the 2022-23 school year: 1,173 — 122.2% change from 2019 — 541.0% change from 2012 #5. Grambling State University Kurtis Toliver // Shutterstock Located in Grambling, Louisiana -Total applicants in the 2022-23 school year: 10,732 — 245.2% more than in 2019 — 108.2% change from 2012 – Students admitted in the 2022-23 school year: 4,547 — 50.4% change from 2019 — 109.5% change from 2012 #4. Oregon Institute of Technology Tada Images // Shutterstock Located in Klamath Falls, Oregon -Total applicants in the 2022-23 school year: 4,570 — 278.9% more than in 2019 — 364.4% change from 2012 – Students admitted in the 2022-23 school year: 4,231 — 261.3% change from 2019 — 570.5% change from 2012 #3. Palm Beach Atlantic University Canva Located in West Palm Beach, Florida -Total applicants in the 2022-23 school year: 6,220 — 305.5% more than in 2019 — 350.4% change from 2012 – Students admitted in the 2022-23 school year: 5,888 — 302.2% change from 2019 — 345.0% change from 2012 #2. Unity College Canva Located in New Gloucester, Maine -Total applicants in the 2022-23 school year: 6,312 — 542.1% more than in 2019 — 1,470.1% change from 2012 – Students admitted in the 2022-23 school year: 5,953 — 516.3% change from 2019 — 1,586.4% change from 2012 #1. Stanbridge University Ground Picture // Shutterstock Located in Irvine, California -Total applicants in the 2022-23 school year: 2,500 — 1,090.5% more than in 2019 — 733.3% change from 2012 – Students admitted in the 2022-23 school year: 253 — 90.2% change from 2019 — -1.9% change from 2012 Story editing by Nicole Caldwell. Copy editing by Paris Close. Photo selection by Lacy Kerrick. 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