Passage Four In a year marked by uncertainty and upheaval, officials at New Orleans universities that draw applicants nationwide are not following the usual rules of thumb when it comes to colleges admissions. The only sure bet, the say, is that this fall’s entering classes--the first since Katrina-- will be smaller than usual. In typical years, most college admissions officials can predict fairly accurately by this point in the admissions cycle how many high school seniors will commit to enrolling in their institutions. Many of the most selective schools require students--who increasingly are applying to multiple institutions- to make their choices by May 1. Loyola University, whose trustees will vote May 19 on whether to drop several degree programs and eliminate 17 faculty positions, received fewer applications--about 2,900 to date, compared with 3,500 in recent years. The school hopes to enroll 700 freshman, down from 850 in the past few years. Historically black Dillard University, which is operating out of a hotel and was forced to cancel its annual March open house, also saw drops, as did Xavier University, a historically black Catholic institution that fell behind its recruitment schedule. Dillard won’t release numbers, but spokeswoman Maureen Larkins says applications were down and enrollments are expected to be lower than in the past, Xavier admissions dean Winston Brown says its applicant pool fell by about half of last year’s record 1,014; he hopes to enroll 500 freshman. In contrast, Tulane University, which is the most selective of the four and developed an aggressive recruitment schedule after the hurricane, enjoyed an 11% increase in applications this year, to a record 20,715. Even so, officials predict that fewer admitted students will enroll and are projecting a smaller-than-usual freshman class- 1,400, compared with a more typical 1,600. Tulane officials announced in December that they would eliminate some departments and faculty positions. Like Tulane, other schools are taking extra steps this year to woo admitted students, often by enlisting help from alumni around the country and reaching out to students with more e-mail, phone calls or web-based interactions such as blogs. In addition, Loyola is relaxing deadlines, sweetening the pot with larger scholarships and freezing tuition at last year’s level. Dillard, too, is freezing tuition. It’s also hosting town meetings in target cities and regions nationwide, and moved its academic calendar back from August to mid-September "to avert the majority of the hurricane season." Larkins says, Xavier extended its application deadline and stepped up its one-on-one contact with accepted students. And Tulane, among other things, has doubled the number of on-campus programs for accepted students and hosted a community service weekend program. While the schools expect applicants to be apprehensive, the admissions officials also see encouraging sins of purposefulness among applicants. "A lot of students who are choosing to come to this city are saying, ’I want to be a part of the action,’ " says Stieffi, noting that Loyola’s transfer applications were up 30%. And while applications to Xavier are down, Brown is betting that students who do apply are serious, "The ones who are applying, we feel, are more likely to come," he says.
In a year marked by uncertainty and upheaval, officials at New Orleans universities that draw applicants nationwide are not following the usual rules of thumb when it comes to colleges admissions. The only sure bet, the say, is that this fall’s entering classes--the first since Katrina-- will be smaller than usual.
In typical years, most college admissions officials can predict fairly accurately by this point in the admissions cycle how many high school seniors will commit to enrolling in their institutions. Many of the most selective schools require students--who increasingly are applying to multiple institutions- to make their choices by May 1. Loyola University, whose trustees will vote May 19 on whether to drop several degree programs and eliminate 17 faculty positions, received fewer applications--about 2,900 to date, compared with 3,500 in recent years. The school hopes to enroll 700 freshman, down from 850 in the past few years. Historically black Dillard University, which is operating out of a hotel and was forced to cancel its annual March open house, also saw drops, as did Xavier University, a historically black Catholic institution that fell behind its recruitment schedule. Dillard won’t release numbers, but spokeswoman Maureen Larkins says applications were down and enrollments are expected to be lower than in the past, Xavier admissions dean Winston Brown says its applicant pool fell by about half of last year’s record 1,014; he hopes to enroll 500 freshman.
In contrast, Tulane University, which is the most selective of the four and developed an aggressive recruitment schedule after the hurricane, enjoyed an 11% increase in applications this year, to a record 20,715. Even so, officials predict that fewer admitted students will enroll and are projecting a smaller-than-usual freshman class- 1,400, compared with a more typical 1,600. Tulane officials announced in December that they would eliminate some departments and faculty positions.
Like Tulane, other schools are taking extra steps this year to woo admitted students, often by enlisting help from alumni around the country and reaching out to students with more e-mail, phone calls or web-based interactions such as blogs. In addition, Loyola is relaxing deadlines, sweetening the pot with larger scholarships and freezing tuition at last year’s level. Dillard, too, is freezing tuition. It’s also hosting town meetings in target cities and regions nationwide, and moved its academic calendar back from August to mid-September "to avert the majority of the hurricane season." Larkins says, Xavier extended its application deadline and stepped up its one-on-one contact with accepted students. And Tulane, among other things, has doubled the number of on-campus programs for accepted students and hosted a community service weekend program.
While the schools expect applicants to be apprehensive, the admissions officials also see encouraging sins of purposefulness among applicants. "A lot of students who are choosing to come to this city are saying, ’I want to be a part of the action,’ " says Stieffi, noting that Loyola’s transfer applications were up 30%. And while applications to Xavier are down, Brown is betting that students who do apply are serious, "The ones who are applying, we feel, are more likely to come," he says.
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