UI fails to attract newcomers

By Kalyn Cooper

Undergraduate applications at the University decreased this year for the first time in six years, falling 14 percent in 2004 after a record year for total number of applications in 2003.

Associate Provost Keith Marshall said there had been an upward trend in applications for five consecutive years until now. He said that the University had received 21,787 undergraduate applications by this time last year. So far this year, it has received only 18,778.

“Admissions is not an exact science; there is a complex set of variables,” Marshall said. “Many other schools around the country are seeing the same patterns as we are.”

Last year, applications at the University of Michigan dropped 18 percent. The Ohio State University also saw a 14.8 percent drop in applications last year.

Marshall said one reason for the drop is a decrease in the number of schools people are applying to in general. Instead of applying to many schools, students apply to only three: “preference,” “stretch” and “safety” schools.

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Dana Marini, junior in LAS, said her younger sister, Megan, was just admitted to the University in late January. She said her sister applied to four schools but will most likely be headed for Champaign next fall.

“It’s easier to be interested in a school you know so much about,” Marini said. “My sister has heard me talk about my experiences for three years now, so it was almost an automatic for her to apply here.”

Another factor that might have decreased student interest in the University is the increase in the number of essays asked for on the application, Marshall said. While prospective students were only asked to write one personal statement in the past, this year there were two other essay portions added to the application process.

“More essays is definitely a positive thing for us because we get to know more about the students applying,” Marshall said. “But if someone is applying to 10 schools, they might be turned off by more work. That just means they’re not very serious about coming here.”

Marshall said that a recent out-of-state tuition increase might be turning off out-of-state students from the University as well. Marshall said the tuition increase, nearly $1,800 per year, contributed to the 30 percent decrease in out-of-state applications.

“Non-resident tuition is now three times what residents are paying, so of course that will have an effect,” he said.

High school students may be seeking more affordable in-state options, he said.

Marshall said he is expecting next year’s enrollment to remain at current levels, and said he is not worried about the quality of students.

“The quality of applications is higher this year than it has been in the past,” he said. “We have a more talented group of students we are admitting.”

Kelly Evans, junior in LAS, said she thinks students seem to be getting smarter every year, and there is more competition to get accepted to the University.

“I know people that ended up going to the University of Michigan after they didn’t get in here,” Evans said. “Maybe with our standards getting higher, people don’t even attempt to get in.”

Marini said she noticed this same trend in many of her sisters’ friends.

“People may want to go here, but they don’t even bother because they know how hard it is,” Marini said. “My sister’s friend figured he couldn’t get in here, so he wants to go to Parkland (College) instead of another university.”

Applications for international students are up six percent this year, Marshall said. He said the University hopes to see this trend in other enrollment groups as well. After a 32 percent drop in minority enrollment this year, Marshall said they are working very hard to increase these numbers in the years to come.

“Two years ago, we had a record number of African-American students at the University. That made the drop this year look even worse,” Marshall said. “We are not pleased at all with the drop in minority enrollment and we expect things to look much better this fall.”

While most other states are seeing high school graduate numbers dropping, Illinois is one of the only states increasing their number of graduates, Marshall said. For this reason, the Chicago area is one of the most heavily recruited areas for out-of-state schools. Marshall said they are struggling to keep these students interested in the University instead of neighboring universities.

Marini said her sister also applied to Auburn University, the University of Wisconsin and University of Kentucky. While many other classmates prefer to go out-of-state to get away from home, Marini said she thinks her sister will most likely come to the University of Illinois.

Marshall said the Office of Admissions and Records will be introducing a survey to all admitted students this year. This survey will ask what factors were important in their decision, whether they decide to come to Illinois or not.

“We haven’t had any information like this in the past,” Marshall said. “We want to attract as many students to Illinois in the future as we possibly can.”