Competition for university study is becoming increasingly strong. Why are universities becoming more competitive? Is this a positive or negative development?

In recent decades, there has been a rise in competitive admission rates for universities. In my opinion,

this

is largely

due to

improving income equality and is a positive trend on the whole. The main cause of

this

phenomenon is a growth in the global middle class. In developed countries, education levels have been rising steadily since the beginning of the 20th century with diminishing returns as countries reach 90% and above.

Therefore

, the most significant increases now come from the developing world.

In particular

, Asian and Middle Eastern nations

such

as Vietnam, Malaysia, and the UAE have seen dramatic growth in per capita income, enabling families to send their children to

university

domestically or abroad.

Coupled with

increased tax revenue

this

allows governments to fund state schools and offer scholarships and grants to less privileged segments of the population. Larger applicant pools from around the world are concomitant with increased competition. Despite the risk that less affluent families will be left behind, fiercer competition is an overwhelming positive. When a large number of applicants compete for a limited number of spots,

this

motivates each individual to excel.

For example

, a student applying to Harvard

University

in the 1950s was competing against a limited number of other applications and could likely rely on wealth and social status to gain acceptance. Nowadays, the acceptance rate is below 5% as students from all over the world strive for a place at Harvard.

This

means students must work harder to differentiate themselves by taking on more meaningful extracurriculars, receiving higher grades, and writing more insightful college essays. All

this

hard work in the aggregate translates to personal growth even if they must settle for a lesser

university

. In conclusion, rising incomes globally are responsible for increased competitiveness for

university

education and

this

clearly benefits both individuals and society.

However

, it is

also

important that governments and families mitigate the potentially negative effects of competition.