This article on Insidehighered.com brings some good news for the parents of children ages 10 through 16. After years of demographics that allowed top colleges to be highly selective (and made students trying to get into them very anxious), the number of students applying to colleges is expected to take a dip starting next year and ending around 2014.

The report on which the article is based, by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, projects "stable production" of students in Maryland -- between a loss of 5 percent and an increase of 5 percent.

Unfortunately for parents like me, whose kids are a little bit younger, the national pool of applicants is expected to climb back to peak levels by the 2017-2018 academic year. How does this news affect your thinking about -- and saving for -- college for your kids?