[Farm93]

Almost certainly foreign applications have been rising from what I have heard, though as far as I can tell nobody reports those numbers. Stanford's latest common data set lists 128 foreign undergrads in the entry class of 2014-15, or 7.6%.  My memory as one of those students from the mid-80s was that they told us we made up some similar fraction, but that could be wrong. The number from 10 years ago was 95 (vs 128). That relative increase is big (35%) but since the absolute increase is small it doesn't have a large effect on domestic applicants.

The UC system shows the number of international applications by year. The increases for the big 2 show a healthy increase in internationally based applicants.  However, it really does, to a large extent mirror the common app growth.

The more curious reality is that the less popular UC schools still accept big numbers of applicants.  The Why Not stuff really only applies to the top tier because of the unique school essays and requirements noted before.  Though seriously, a few essays is not that big of a deal in this online, electronic age.  Back in the day, you had to bust out a typewriter each time and work tirelessly to make sure everything would fit with no mistakes etc.  Mess up?  Likely time to write the school for a second copy of the application.  That wasn't a be*r.  It was much bigger pain in the ...!

Common app is big.  Most schools that joined the process expected, and then got, significant increases in applications. Since schools adopted the common app at different times over the last 10 years or so I am sure one could conduct a statistical analysis with the data available across the top 30 schools.

[Farm93]

Almost certainly foreign applications have been rising from what I have heard, though as far as I can tell nobody reports those numbers. Stanford's latest common data set lists 128 foreign undergrads in the entry class of 2014-15, or 7.6%.  My memory as one of those students from the mid-80s was that they told us we made up some similar fraction, but that could be wrong. The number from 10 years ago was 95 (vs 128). That relative increase is big (35%) but since the absolute increase is small it doesn't have a large effect on domestic applicants.

The UC system shows the number of international applications by year. The increases for the big 2 show a healthy increase in internationally based applicants.  However, it really does, to a large extent mirror the common app growth.

The more curious reality is that the less popular UC schools still accept big numbers of applicants.  The Why Not stuff really only applies to the top tier because of the unique school essays and requirements noted before.  Though seriously, a few essays is not that big of a deal in this online, electronic age.  Back in the day, you had to bust out a typewriter each time and work tirelessly to make sure everything would fit with no mistakes etc.  Mess up?  Likely time to write the school for a second copy of the application.  That wasn't a be*r.  It was much bigger pain in the ...!

Common app is big.  Most schools that joined the process expected, and then got, significant increases in applications. Since schools adopted the common app at different times over the last 10 years or so I am sure one could conduct a statistical analysis with the data available across the top 30 schools.