Christian Putegnat mouthed something to a classmate over a visitor's head. Christian, whom other Campbell High students around the table expect to be valedictorian this year, looked sheepish when asked if he perhaps had something to share with the group.

"I was thinking about a friend of ours," he began, then spilled the story going around: The friend in question was told by her parents they not only couldn't afford college, she couldn't even apply.

"She works really hard, too," he said.

That's when Campbell's college counselor, Eleyne Fia, jumped in. If it's true, send the young woman to the college counseling office, where resources are available to help cash-strapped applicants who might qualify for a fee waiver.

If it's a tough year for friends of Christian — who himself has applications lodged at Harvard, Stanford and Brigham Young universities — imagine how others are faring. Early checks show that students across the island are mimicking their national counterparts in several trends.

IT'S THE ECONOMY

The current economic situation is taking its toll on just about everything else, so why not college plans, right?

Yet with the exception of Christian's friend, one place families don't seem to be cutting corners is applications.

O'ahu college counselors, both public and private, said the number of applications per student isn't dropping at all. Castle, Campbell, Roosevelt and Punahou counselors said the number is staying steady, if not rising.

"I see some kids limiting applications, but mostly, it's more schools per student," said Dayna Kaneshiro, Roosevelt's college counselor.

Hawai'i's college-bound high school seniors are not alone, Trend watcher Kristen Campbell, national director of college prep programs for Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions, said the number of applications per student used to average about six to eight. Now, it's closer to eight.

Another economy-driven trend is students looking closer to home, where families may get more college bang for the buck. State schools across the nation are seeing an increase in applications from residents, Campbell said.

STICKING CLOSE TO HOME

At the University of Hawai'i-Manoa, associate vice chancellor for students Alan Yang said applications jumped 20 percent by Jan. 2 compared with the same period last year.

Don't weigh that too heavily: This year, they moved up the priority deadline for applications, so students possibly are simply hitting the early target. Yet Yang said he does expect to see a slight increase in applications, though the state is also forecasting a slight decrease in the number of graduating seniors.

"Anecdotally, students are telling counselors (that even if they) had the option to go away to school, they're staying closer to home," Yang said.

UH guarantees acceptance to qualified residents — those in the top 40 percent of their class, carrying at least a 2.8 GPA and earning at least a 510 in each of the three areas of the SAT — and "clearly we have the capacity" to take about 1,000 more than the 20,000 students it has made room for in recent years, Yang said. "Those qualified will continue to come here," he added.

KNOWING THE PROCESS

Yes, the number of applications are increasing while the slots are constant, Kaplan's Campbell said. And while Hawai'i may have seen the peak in the "echo boom" generation, the nation has not.

"There are more students in the process," Campbell said. "Also, more ambitious students."

What she means is, many of today's college applicants are second-generation college-goers, she said.

"They're savvy applicants," Campbell said. "They get it. ... They know the process."

She warns today's student (and by extension, their parents) to take the college hunt seriously.

"Think about it as early as freshman year, when you're getting great grades," Campbell said. "Don't wait until senior year."

Another big don't: Don't assume that this is the year to paper the Ivy League schools with applications, assuming your chances will be better. Sure, consider dream colleges, suggested Nelson Chee, Castle High's college counselor. But it's best to determine if it's a good fit first.

"Talk to your parents," Chee advises his students. "If you feel it's a good shot, go ahead and apply."

COLLEGE PREP VIEW

At Punahou, Myron Arakawa said patterns for applications remain stable.

"The proof of the pudding is acceptance and enrollment," said Arakawa, who heads up the college counseling office.

Acceptances often don't come out until early spring.

"Maybe it's false optimism, but I think teenagers have a faith and optimistic view of how things will turn out," he said. "It may not be reality down the line, but we encourage them to keep their options open."

When it comes to financial aid helping some make their dreams a reality, Arakawa said, "I'm holding my breath and crossing fingers that that's true."

He confesses some slight apprehension early on in the economic downturn, but has been around long enough to know "priorities differ from institution to institution." The most selective schools have the largest endowments, which make them more "able to weather this thing."

As for sticking close to home, Arakawa said about a third to 40 percent of Punahou seniors apply to local schools already, and the largest group, about 8 percent to 10 percent, enroll at UH-Manoa.

"UH remains and has remained our largest school, the one we feed the most," he said. "I expect that to hold true."

Will more head to UH, once families check their finances?

The jury's out, Arakawa said.

"The last time it happened, with 9/11, we thought our number of kids staying locally would increase," he said. "By the spring, I guess things recovered enough that the statistics held the same as years before, despite the tourism drop. Of course, this is a different picture. We have no precedent. It's really sort of a sit and wait."

THE NEW REALITY?

Back at Campbell High, Fia and her students talked about their worries about the future — and visibly blanched when they heard the national trend that more students are applying for the same number of slots.

"It makes me nervous," said Ashley Dixon, who earned a a National Merit commendation and already has been accepted to at least one O'ahu school.

Classmate Lalo Respicio is glad he didn't count on athletics getting him into college. Even though he's the school quarterback, he's got a solid GPA and already is applying to nursing programs in Arizona and New Mexico.

"I have six siblings and (our parents have) one income," he said, explaining why the financial aid package is really important to his family. "I'm looking for (merit) scholarships."

"Here," their counselor, Fia, interjected, "it's not as much about getting into college but paying for it."

The quartet of college-bound students were reassured, however, when they heard that they are guaranteed acceptance at UH, as long as they meet the basic requirements.

While it might be a year of transition for the college-bound, at Campbell and elsewhere, it's still important for graduating seniors to dream.

"You don't know until you take your shots," said Arakawa at Punahou. "Families and kids shouldn't be discouraged by what they're afraid could happen."