Guidance counselors and college admissions officers are encouraging high school seniors to use some of their time off this Thanksgiving to work on college applications. But some students who applied early to Georgia Tech and the University of Georgia already know that they’re in.

Roughly 3,000 students applied early to Georgia Tech, up 12 percent from last year. And the school is on track to see a ten percent jump in applications over the whole admissions season, continuing a pattern of double-digit application increases the school has seen in recent years.

Georgia Tech’s undergraduate admissions director Rick Clark says recent reports rating the school as giving a high return on investment have helped raise interest.

"These days, especially in a down economy, students and parents are looking at themselves more as consumers and college, to some extent, more as a product," Clark says. "I mean, we’re going to invest tons of time and effort and emotional energy in this – is it going to return?"

Clark says the school has already received applications from students in 140 of the state’s 180 school districts. There’s also been a big jump in students applying from around the United States and abroad.

The holiday break also caps a month of efforts by the state to help seniors apply to colleges. More than 200 high schools around the state are holding events this month to help students complete their applications and financial aid forms.

Clark says the program helps students understand the breadth of higher education options in Georgia.

"There’s sometimes kind of a myopic understanding of what’s available to them and so, having people from colleges and universities out saying, we’re not even pushing our school at this point; we just want to help educate you about what makes a good application and answer questions about, what’s the difference between an HBCU and a two-year school or a four-year public versus a private."

The programs, which are federally funded through a grant aimed at increasing college access, targets students who are the first in their families to apply to college.