While many qualified IHS seniors dreamt of receiving acceptance letters to their first-choice colleges, the standard acceptance message didn't appear on many letters this year. It seems that the biggest reason for this, according to Debra Rivera, senior class Assistant Principal, and Isaac D. '09, is the high level of competition among students at IHS and students of other high schools in the nation.

The U.S. Department of Education predicts that the number of high school graduates will continue to rise through 2009. The percentage of high school students expecting to go to college is also rising, and is already over 60 percent. In addition, the number of applications per student has increased tremendously. "When I was in high school, we didnâ't apply to ten different colleges like students this year are doing," said Phillip Jordan, the IHS Social Studies Department Head.

IHS has historically had a reputation for strong academics, with 70 percent of its students applying to colleges. Acceptance rates have not dropped because IHS students have gone brain dead; many colleges remain impressed with IHS students.

In terms of teacher recommendations this year, Spanish teacher Lana Craig and Jordan reported that they have not seen a serious fluctuation in the number of recommendation letters they were requested to write. According to Craig, there has been a constant ratio between the total number of students in her Advanced Placement classes, and the number of students requesting recommendations. It also depends on where students are applying. For example, there were more requests from those who applied to Ivy League schools than those going to state colleges.

Amidst all this chaos, juniors are preparing themselves for their senior year. The acceptance rates this year have frightened some and have led them to make "Plan Bs."

"I feel really worried since there is more competition to get into a school which means that I have to stand out and have stellar grades. It adds a lot of pressure also to do everything right in order to get into your dream school," said Lucy M. '10.

Predictions on the acceptance rates for next year are still unclear. Although the acceptance rates have gradually decreased, there are still slight fluctuations.

"The low acceptance rates from this year wonâ't dictate how things will turn out next year," said Grace G. '09. "I mean sure, fewer kids might apply to schools with lower acceptance rates from this year, but those who have their hearts set won't let that stop them, and the economy will probably play a huge part in it. If it gets worse, families won't be able to afford to send their kids to schools, but colleges will probably decide to be less picky about who gets into where."

Many juniors have been attending as many extracurricular clubs and activities as possible in hopes of having a more competitive application next year, creating another type of competition between colleagues.

"A lot of people are trying to jam their schedules and do as many clubs and activities as they possibly can, but it's more important to focus on doing really well on one or two areas instead of attempting to do everything at once," said Lara B. '09.

Overall, competition seems to be the main issue. According to Isaac D., "A record number of people applied to college but they canâ't accept any more than usual, so thatâ's what creates the unusually high number of rejections." Rivera advised future seniors to research colleges to the fullest extent and "[know] the school you want to go to." College tours never hurt either!