"It is hard to know how much is true interest," said Barbara Gill, director of college admissions at the state's flagship campus. "It was unusual to talk to a student who didn't apply to more than five schools."
That unease led some colleges to make decisions this year that guidance counselors find puzzling.
At Hereford High School, guidance counselor Tim Hayden was surprised when a student "with pretty much a perfect grade point average" was accepted by Yale and rejected by a second-tier school.
He believes that reflects the backup school trying to protect its yield rate in national rankings.
"It is like dating. You don't want to tell them that they are not your first choice," said Stephen Roy Goodman, an educational consultant from Towson who advises families on college admissions. One student he advised got into Vassar and New York University and was rejected by Ithaca College, a less competitive school.
"Why would that happen? Because Ithaca didn't believe that student was ever going to Ithaca," Goodman said.
Abrah got into nine of the 10 colleges she applied to, far more than she dreamed. She had planned to apply to eight schools, but her teachers and counselor advised her to pick a broader range, so she added two more.
She thought that perhaps her decision would be made for her because one college would offer more scholarship money.
But at least four have offered to pay her tuition for all four years. After visiting Denison University on Monday, she has narrowed her decision to four schools: Rice, Johns Hopkins, Tufts and Emory. "I wasn't expecting this at all, really," she said, adding that she is a minority, something colleges are looking for. "I am foreign-born, an African-American woman. I think that is one aspect." But she also took rigorous courses, maintained good grades and had many activities.
Betsy Coe, a Centennial High School counselor, said decisions seemed a bit more unpredictable this year. Coe said it seemed almost as though "one day admissions officers were looking for an equestrian with purple hair" and the next day they wanted an accomplished musician.
"Senior year is supposed to be more relaxed because it is your last year," said Hereford High School senior Meg Becker, but for her class the stress of the competition has been "a downer."
