Dive Brief:

• In a sign that the hyper-competitive application environment may be calming a bit, a survey shows a dip in the number of applicants seeking admission to seven or more colleges — the first such decline in two decades.
• While low acceptance rates at the most highly competitive colleges sometimes get all the attention, the survey found that, on average, four-year institutions accept about two-thirds of students who apply.
• Most colleges attribute little or no importance to race, ethnicity, or first-generation status when admitting students, the survey finds.

Dive Insight:

The drop in the percentage of students submitting seven or more applications was not large, but after rising from 9% in 1992 to 29% in 2011, it dropped to 28% in 2012.