Increase in applicants for class of 2008 raises level of competition

Ashley Feibish / Asst. News Editor

Competition is increasing. Elon is averaging a 19 to 20 percent increase in applications for the class of 2008, said Susan Klopman, dean of Admissions and Financial Planning.

Nearly 7,900 applications have been received, compared to 6,595 at this time last year, Klopman said.

This year’s freshman class has 1227 students. Next year’s is expected to have approximately 1250.

The class of 2007’s average SAT score was 1159 and next year’s class is projected to have an average SAT score of 1200. As Elon becomes a more competitive school, it has begun to accept fewer of its total applicants.

“We accepted 45 percent of applicants last year. Right now, it’s about 40 percent,” Klopman said.

The Fellows program is also experiencing tougher competition. More than 800 applicants applied for the various Fellows programs and 562 are invited to compete during Fellow’s Weekend, March 5 though 6. The average SAT score of a Fellows applicant for the class of 2008 is 1283 and the average recalculated core GPA is 4.23, Klopman said.

The increase in the number of prospective students has brought the rolling admissions plan under consideration. The challenge of having more applicants means changes for the admissions’ system. Applicants are notified within six to eight weeks after their completed applications are filed, beginning after Oct. 1. Applicants are notified as their applications are received. Under the current rolling admissions plan, the freshman class is generally filled by Feb. 1, according to Elon University’s admissions web site.

In response to the large number of applicants, the faculty admissions committee unanimously approved to move in the direction of a deadline admissions plan, Klopman said. A final answer and approval from the Board of Trustees is expected by mid-March. This change would give a more fair advantage to those students who may decide to apply to Elon later in the year.

A deadline admissions plan would allow students to be accepted early decision or early action, with the final deadline in January. Students not applying early admission or early action would be notified in mid to late March, Klopman said.

Early decision is a binding agreement, meaning if a prospective student is admitted, he must withdraw his applications from other colleges. Early action is not binding, and applications would be due in December.

The process for the early decision plan will not change. Students applying early decision will be notified starting after Oct. 1. Admissions accepted 310 of 459 early admissions applicants for the class of 2008, Klopman said. These students have priority status for housing and registration.

Early decision students are the only students guaranteed one of their top four housing choices, said Niki Turley, associate director of Residence Life operations and information management.

Even though Elon is seeing an increase in the number of applicants, the number of students admitted will remain about the same. Even with a gradual increase in the number of students attending Elon, there are no plans to abolish the requirement that sophomores live on campus. There are currently no plans for new residence halls in the works, but it is likely something will be built in the next several years, Turley said. “There is always the struggle of housing– we want to house everyone that wants it,” Turley said.

When Elon finalizes its changes to admissions, Residence Life will follow accordingly.

“We [residence life] would bump everything according to [changes in] admissions. We would still go by date of deposit,” Turley said.

Elon is seeing applications from all over the country and abroad, including New Mexico, California and Colorado. The only states Elon has not received any applications from are Alaska, Nevada, North Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming, Klopman said.

In recent news, Project Connect 2003, a survey by Carnegie Communications found that 4000 college bound students ranked Elon No. 2 in the South in schools which students wished to apply. The overall information gave Elon a No. 4 ranking for Southern schools.

The increase in applicants and recent rankings show Elon is gaining notoriety with prospective students as it becomes more competitive with each year.