It may be surprising to hear that the high school Class of 2025 is the biggest senior class in U.S. history, but it also may explain why this year’s application season seemed more cutthroat.

Even though the senior class isn’t any bigger than normal at LHS, it’s actually quite small, with a graduating class of only 280 students. This isn’t the case nationwide. According to the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, there are 3.9 million high schoolers graduating in 2025.

Naturally, more graduates means more competition for both colleges and scholarships. As the class numbers continue to grow, these programs can’t always keep up.

Regardless of the number of applicants, most colleges can only accept a small number of people and most scholarships have a set amount of money they can give.

“We’re seeing a lot more students getting rejected,” said school counselor Gordon Hillberg. “More students are applying and there’s a limited number of spaces available.”

This means, the competition for the class 2025 is greater than any year prior.

“We are at the peak of high school graduates,” said school counselor Lisa Sheehy. “For the first time, our students aren’t getting into colleges they thought they would get into.”

This trend is especially clear with Oregon State University.

“Oregon State, for example, saw more applications than ever before,” said Sheehy. “It definitely made it more competitive.”

Despite the higher volume of applications, not all hope is lost for our graduating class. Many students at LHS still got into very rigorous or low-acceptance schools.

“I was really shocked that I got in,” said senior Mila Kaplan, who was admitted to MIT this year. “I am so grateful for this opportunity.”