Applications received
Michigan got 196,620 applications. That's not a typo.
Application volume has separated from selectivity. Michigan and NYU are reading more applications than Caltech and Stanford combined.
Applications received — Michigan, NYU, UC San Diego, Northeastern, UC Davis
Michigan, NYU, UC San Diego, and Northeastern each receive roughly 100,000+ applications a year. Michigan in particular nearly doubled NYU's volume in 2024-25 — while still admitting roughly 1 in 6.
This volume is enabled by class size: Michigan enrolls ~7,000 freshmen. The result is a different kind of selectivity story than the Ivies — broad funnel, large class.
Takeaway: “Selective” means different things at different scales. Volume rivals are competing for a different applicant pool.
Latest year, all schools shown
| School | Year | Applied |
|---|---|---|
| Michigan | 2024-25 | 196,620 |
| UC San Diego | 2024-25 | 128,178 |
| NYU | 2024-25 | 110,807 |
| Northeastern | 2024-25 | 98,397 |
| UC Davis | 2024-25 | 93,975 |