As the early action deadlines quickly draw to a close and the regular decision deadline looms, seniors are deciding their top choices for colleges. According to the College and Career Center, the most popular schools for seniors to apply to are listed in order of highest popularity to lowest: the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities, University of Wisconsin–Madison, University of St. Thomas, University of Iowa and University of Iowa State, and University of Colorado–Boulder.

The University of Minnesota was the clear winner among the senior class so far, but the University of Wisconsin–Madison is a close second. A majority of seniors are applying to both of these schools\; for many, they are viewed as the ideal Big Ten schools that are also close to home. There was a total of 120 applicants to the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities and 66 applicants to Madison.“The best part of Madison is that it’s just like the U of M, but it’s farther away,” senior Walker Niebergall said.

The third most popular school is the University of St. Thomas, with a total of 58 applicants this year. The University of St. Thomas is a common feeder school for BSM because it is close to home, religious, and has a medium sized student body. Last year, St. Thomas also instituted changes in order to jump from a Division III school to a Division I school. “I applied because my grandpa coached the hockey team and taught mathematics at St. Thomas,” senior Jenna Schwartz said.

Tied for fourth place are the University of Iowa and Iowa State University each with a total of 39 applications. Both of these schools are incredibly common among BSM students to apply to, and each enroll around ten students a year. Similar to the University of Minnesota and University of Wisconsin, they are both Big Ten schools with the multitude of opportunities a big campus has to offer, but they are a bit farther away from home. “I liked Iowa State a lot, and it’s easy to get in to, it really boosted my confidence when I got in right away,” senior Kelly Dempsey said.

Lastly, in fifth place is University of Colorado–Boulder, with 37 applications this year. This is an increase from the ten applications last year, and CU-Boulder has continued to grow a very positive reputation among the BSM community. Located in the gorgeous city of Boulder, it offers views of the Rocky Mountains and the Flatirons. “I applied there because I love to ski, and it’s beautiful all the time,” senior Kyle Wallace said.