It would actually be _more_ competitive, because what's driving the reduction in admissions is uncertainty in grant/funding availability.

That means fewer available slots overall. Kornbluth's comments don't explicitly state anything about _applications_, just _admissions_. Given the heightened economic uncertainty and poor job prospects for recent graduates, I'd expect more students to be looking for graduate school as a way to tide themselves over.

So a very, very bad picture for folks seeking graduate education and training.