Image by Flickr user Aaron Michael Brown Image by 20090314-application.jpg

Although the economy is battered schools across the state (particularly the public ones) are recording record numbers of applicants.

Read more stories on this subject in our college topic page.The College of Charleston has seen its number of applicants increase some 10 percent.

The Post and Courier is your best bet for a look at the rising numbers in South Carolina. -- But the paper only records what is happening, not why.

It could partly be a shift away from more expensive schools, Bloomberg records that the nation's top liberal-arts schools all saw steep declines in applicants.

There's also the matter of technology making it easier for kids to apply to multiple schools.

Also, I'd speculate that college looks a lot more attractive to young people when there are fewer jobs to be had for untrained young folks.