The Office of Admissions has noticed new trends in the way people are going about their college search process: students are looking at more colleges than normal and waiting until the last minute to submit their tuition deposits.
Last year, 359 people submitted their tuition deposits by this time, securing their spot in the class of 2019 at Augustana. This year, the Office of Admissions has seen that number decrease by 19, with 340 students sending in their deposits.
Courtney Wallace, director of admissions for the Chicago region, said the Office of Admissions has seen a common trend in the more recent years. Students are applying to more schools and waiting “until the last minute” to commit to a school.
“It used to be that students would apply to 3 to 5 schools,” said Wallace. “We always recommended 5 to 7 schools and today students are applying to 15 to 20 schools. I think the pressure to apply more places comes from the media saying it is getting harder and harder to get into school, and that’s just not the case.”
Wallace said this year, 3,264 students were sent acceptance letters into the college not including international or transfer students. Last year, 3,193 students were sent acceptance letters.
The number of students who applied also went up this, Wallace said. Last year, 6,497 students applied; this year, 6,634 applications were received.
According to Wallace, last fall, the class of 2018 consisted of 728 degree-seeking first-year and international students along with an additional 50 transfer students. This fall, the Office of Admissions hopes to see a class of 2019 consisting of 680-710 students.
Wallace said that the number of students who attend events has gone up overall.
“We are attracting a more diverse population, which is great,” said Wallace. “People are realizing we are not just a small school, but also offer a great education.”
Wallace said one of the most important things during the college search process is visiting the college students are interested in.
“Augustana visitors are impressed with the small class sizes, our beautiful campus, with Augie choice and with the ability to be involved in athletics, music, clubs and Greek groups,” said Office of Admissions ambassador Mollie Magee. “One of the best feelings as a tour guides is seeing when a prospective student has that ‘light bulb’ moment when they realize that Augie is the place they are ment to be.”
Wallace said that this week into next week is the one of the busiest time periods for the Office of Admissions. Students are recommended to make their final decision by the national decision day on May 1.