First, there was the pandemic. Then there was a period of rapid inflation, which placed pressure on everyone. Rising tuitions and alternative career paths cut enrollment at smaller schools, forcing many of them to reorganize or even close their doors.
As CNBC reports, this problem has not affected "Ivy Plus" schools. Rather than decline, highly competitive colleges are seeing more applications than ever before. Many name brand universities are buying up struggling schools as satellite campuses. The result is that applications are up—way up, and the admissions game is more competitive than ever.