Across the country, high school seniors are preparing to seal envelopes, submit forms and fill in those ubiquitous exam bubbles. The angst-ridden college admissions season is well underway, and female applicants face even greater uncertainty than their male counterparts.

As women continue to enroll at higher rates than men, some colleges have begun to alter admission rates for both men and women. The U.S. Census Bureau reported that in 2006, women made up 56 percent of the total undergraduate students in the United States.

“In my experience, I have seen instances where the admissions bar is set a little lower for boys, compared to girls,” said Bari Norman, an independent college counselor and former admissions officer at Barnard College.

“With somewhat relaxed admissions standards, a reach school may very well become their reality,” Norman said on the increasing opportunities for males.

U.S. News and World Report published a list this past summer labeling 18 schools “Girls Need Not Apply.” The magazine selected these colleges, which include the University of Richmond, Boston College and Fordham University, for their increasing disparity between male and female admissions over the past 10 years.

Number five on the list, The College of William and Mary, has an 11 percent lower acceptance rate for women, yet their student body is still 57 percent female.

“Our awareness of this demographic reality certainly informs our recruitment strategy in terms of striving to ensure that qualified men know about the opportunities available,” said William and Mary Dean of Admissions Henry Broaddus in an August interview with The Flat Hat, the school’s student newspaper.

Some schools have begun instituting new programs and initiatives to help equalize the student body.

In a press release, Lake Erie College President Michael Victor announced that his school intends to create a varsity football team for the 2008 athletic season as a means of recruiting male applicants.

This trend hasn’t been absent on the Hilltop, but Georgetown administrators said that the university’s admissions policies will remain gender-neutral.

Georgetown has seen a small increase in female applicants over the past several years, but the student body has remained consistently between 53 percent and 56 percent female for past five years, said Charles Deacon, Georgetown’s dean of undergraduate admissions.

“There has been some discussion for quite a while, but admissions policies are gender neutral. To tip it by gender would be a clear issue,” Deacon said.

High school counselors noted that gender ratios often vary between different types of universities.

“In certain pools, it may be harder for women than for men, especially in liberal arts fields. Many private schools want to keep the balance 50-50,” said Suzanne Colligan, director of college counseling at Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School.

“The entire admissions process gets more and more competitive every year, regardless of whether you are male or female. However, in general, nationwide there are more women applying to college than men,” said Colligan, who conceded that as a result, the admissions process may be more difficult for women.

On the other hand, science and technology schools, like the assachusetts Institute of Technology, which admits women at a 17 percent higher rate than men, strive to increase female enrollment,

“There is a point where you have to look at the dynamics of the institution on a whole. As an institution, you are looking at what your character is and what the student body is that you want to make up,” Colligan added.