Established 1826 — Oldest College Newspaper West of the Alleghenies
NEWS

Miami University applicant pool grows

Matt Levy, Staff Writer

Miami University students should expect a larger first-year class in August 2011.

Compared with the past few years, Miami has seen an increase in applications from prospective students, with more applicants now than this time last year, according to statistics from the Office of the Provost.

Miami tour guide Rebecca Bird has had some first-hand experience with next year's possible first-year class.

"We've had tour groups of every size, but many of them have tended to be quite large," Bird said.

According to Bird, most students on the daily tours are from in state, but groups during school breaks tend to include more prospective students from out of state.

"Many out-of-state students ask me about being from New Jersey and how I adjusted to living in Ohio," Bird said. "(They) are often concerned about feeling outnumbered and being unable to make friends since they fear that students coming from the same Ohio high schools will stick together."

Data from the Office of the Provost currently shows non-Ohio residents' application rates up 22 percent and in-state applications up 23 percent compared to last year at this time.

According to Jennifer Herman, senior associate director of the Office of Admission, Miami's applicant pool is traditionally half Ohio residents and half non-residents.

"We are trying to attract more out-of-state students from areas particularly outside of the midwest," Herman said. "There is a population decline in high school graduates in the midwest happening now and that is expected to continue through 2018."

According to Herman, with a smaller applicant pool coming from Ohio and the midwest in general, it is important to look for students beyond where Miami students traditionally live.

Herman described some of the various strategies used to attract prospective students.

Enjoy what you're reading?
Signup for our newsletter

"We've placed regional recruiters on the east and west coast, placed ads on college search websites, we hold off-campus recruiting events and conduct campus-wide Web chats," Herman said. "Out-of-state students add to the diversity of our campus."

Herman said it is not merely the size of the incoming first-year class that is important.

"We want to make sure we get students who will succeed at Miami and contribute to the campus community," Herman said.

According to Bird, many interested students who take the campus tour want to make sure they will adapt well to campus life.

"I have received questions about the university's Greek system and what is being done in the wake of the sorority suspensions last semester," Bird said.

Bird said in her experience, many prospective students have been interested in attending Miami for business, engineering, education and communications.

Although the number of applications is higher, it is not until after Miami's Dec.1 and Feb. 1 application deadlines that the university will know more definitively what the class of 2015 will look like.

"May 1 is still the national confirmation deadline," Herman said. "Once May 1 gets here and maybe a week or two after the dust settles, we will see what the class size will look like."

At press time, Miami had 7,236 applications for the fall 2011 semester.


Read More

Trending