The pressure is on for high school seniors to decide where they will be attending college in the fall. National Decision Day is May 1, a day in which students must commit to a university. According to the Common Application, applications have increased from previous years; Harvard University received over 57,000 applications, which is a 47% increase from last year. The data from the Common Application shows that roughly the same amount of students are applying to college, but total applications were up by 11% this year. This means that even though the same amount of students are applying to college, they are submitting more applications than they have in previous years.

It is too soon to tell how this will affect colleges and universities in the fall, although it’s no secret that many universities have been battling to keep student enrollment up during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sonoma State University has faced the steepest decline in enrollment in the California State University (CSU) System, with almost a 10% decrease in enrollment from 2019 to 2020. With an increase in student applications, and the planned return to in-person instruction in the fall, one can hope that this increase in applications will lead to an increase in enrollment at SSU. Many Seawolves have loved the experience that they have had at SSU, and are reflecting on why they chose SSU when they made the very same decision.