WASHINGTON -- With the number of high school students applying for college hitting a record high, the fight for spots at top-tier schools has heated up.

Officials said nearly 3 million high school students will apply for college admission this year. And, anxious to land a coveted spot, one-third of those students will send applications to at least seven different schools.

This year alone, more than 15,000 applications flooded into American University in Washington. University officials said that number is up 11 percent compared to last year.

"It's so competitive that even if a kid is perfect -- and I would say I have a couple of kids who, I hate to use perfect, but are close to perfect -- and they didn't get in their top choices and they're about 20 points away from perfect SAT and straight A's in the hardest classes," said Rob Kurtz, of Wootton High School.

Admissions directors said parents and students need to remember that the current selection process goes far beyond just number crunching.

"In our admission process, we review more than 26 factors before we make a decision. So, we look very carefully at students' academic records and supporting test scores, but their involvements and the breadth of their experiences," said Barbara Gill.

Compounding the challenge is the fact that many parents and students refuse to consider schools beyond the Ivy League or those that consistently rank at the top of elite lists.

"If anything, we almost need to counsel the parents more than the kids because in some cases, if not in many cases, in professional communities we have the parents who are really caught up in those 200 name schools," said Will Ramsey.

"I think that this process, in the parents' mind, is just as much about their success as a parent, as it is about the success of their children as scholars and college applicants," said Sharon Alston.

College admissions directors advise parents to consider lesser-known yet still top-notch schools, prepare children for possible disappointment and remember that where they go to college won't dictate where they can go in life.