Colleges see record applications

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- A record number of high school students are applying to some Minnesota colleges, likely in response to uncertainty over their futures, college officials said.

At the University of Minnesota's Twin Cities campus, 16,000 students have applied for admission this fall, and the 2,800 freshman applications are up 21 percent over last year, officials said Thursday. Freshman applications at Minnesota State, Mankato, are up 55 percent over last year. At Bemidji State and St. Cloud State, applications are up about 38 percent.

"When the dot-coms were booming, kids could get a decent job without a college degree," said Pat Krueger, St. Cloud's associate director of admissions. "Then the whole industry went down, and some of those folks came back to school. But it affects high school seniors, too. Job opportunities are so limited right now that they're driven back to going to college."

The boom mirrors national trends, though the numbers are somewhat exaggerated here, said Travis Reindl, director of state policy and analysis for the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, based in Washington, D.C.