By the end of the last admissions period, the University had received 31,454 applications for the class of 2016, a record high. The University offered about 20,000 of those applicants admission. But come August, just shy of 7,000 of those students had made the decision to become Illini.

The University has had declining returns on its acceptance letters since 2006. In the time since that year, the yield of accepted Illinois residents has dropped from 58.4 percent to 45.3 percent for incoming freshmen, according to data collected by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. Counting in the admissions of nonresidents and international students, those numbers dip from 49.7 percent in 2006 to 34.8 percent this year.

The University has a yearly goal to have 7,000 freshmen enroll. But because the University has to compete with other schools, it must admit more students each year to reach its enrollment goals, said Daniel Mann, director of student financial aid.

A decrease in yield reflects both the increased number of students admitted and a consistent number of students actually attending the University.

“We have to offer admission to more students to fill our class because the competition for top-notch students just keeps getting more and more intense each year,” Mann said. “And many times, it is scholarships and financial aid that is being used to compete for those students.”

Stacey Kostell, director of undergraduate admissions, said a reason for this drop is an increase in admits to the number of international and out-of-state students ,who have to pay a higher rate of tuition than Illinois residents. The Universtiy admitted 8,300 nonresident and international freshmen this year, which is more than twice the number of admitted nonresident and international students in 2006. But out of those admitted, only 1,663 enrolled — a yield of about one student enrolled for every five admitted.

“Public schools always yield their residents at a higher percentage than they’re going to yield their nonresidents,” she said.  “Now we have more nonresidents, so a drop in yield is to be expected.”

Kostell added that nonresident student numbers are increasing because the University has a larger application pool to draw from. The 31,454 applications received for the 2012 freshman class — a spike of almost 3,000 from the previous year — had an increase in each category of applicant — residents, nonresident and international students.

According to the Illinois Board of Higher Education, the top three public, out-of-state schools attended by Illinois residents in 2010 are the University of Iowa, the University of Missouri and Indiana University. This year, Illinois residents make up about 33 percent of Iowa’s freshman class and over 21 percent of freshmen at Missouri, as shown in each school’s enrollment figures.

Michael Barron, director of admissions at the University of Iowa, said it is difficult to give specific reasons for the high number of Illinois residents at these schools, as one’s decision to attend a university is personal. However, he said the cost of attendance is something that stands out to all incoming students.

He said the $24,900 out-of-state tuition for Iowa is a flat rate for incoming freshmen, whereas at other schools, including the University of Illinois, certain majors and departments charge extra fees, even for in-state students. 

“If you look at that and then the possibility of scholarships, the financial gap between going out-of-state and staying in state might narrow somewhat,” Barron said. “There are financial incentives that colleges could put in place that would make leaving the state of Illinois a little more affordable.”

The topics of tuition and financial aid were discussed at the board of trustees meeting in November, when Chancellor Phyllis Wise said the primary reason students choose schools other than the University is because a different school offered a better financial aid package. 

However, Mann said a limited number of scholarships and financial aid packages can be offered to students each year.

This year, the University spent over $64 million on financial aid and scholarships, but Mann said more money is being put toward making tuition more affordable each year.

“One of the strategies that we need to work on to make ourselves more competitive in the future is being able to try to increase the amount of money that we can offer to students,” he said. “Hopefully, in time, that will improve our yield.”

Regardless of the cost of attendance, the University is not the only state school with a decreasing yield. From 2005 to 2011, yield percentages have dropped about 6 percentage points at the University of Iowa and the University of Missouri, and 8 points at Indiana University. But this is still a slower decline than Illinois’ drop of 15.6 points in enrollment yield during the same period.

Barron said the decrease in yield at Iowa and other schools was a common trend because more students are being smart about applying for colleges. Most high school students now are applying to anywhere between three and 10 colleges, he said, and at the same time, colleges are looking to diversify their student populations.  

“With increased recruiting and an increased amount of information, competition among universities has grown a great deal in the past few years, which, in turn, has caused the yield to decrease,” Barron said.

Kostell said the University of Illinois is not as concerned with yield as it is with making sure tuition and fees are still affordable for students, especially Illinois residents.

“We believe in the value of an Illinois education,” she said. “What’s a concern to all of us, and what we need to keep focusing on, is making sure that remains anaffordable option to students.”

Lauren can be reached at [email protected].