Vol. 16 No. 4 December 2001

Results of CB's 2001 National Admissions Trends Survey...
Applications Continue
to Soar
MORE APPLICATIONS, more early applications, more electronic applications.... That's what CB found in its 16th National College Admissions Trends Survey.

This year, 90 representative colleges and universities, public and private, large and small, across the nation participated in CB's annual survey. Here's what admissions officers reported about the top trends of the 2000-2001 admissions cycle.

ELECTRONIC APPS
DRAMATICALLY INCREASING
One leading edge trend of recent years intensified even more in 2001. Some 56 of the colleges and universities in CB's 2001 national survey, or about 62 percent, currently offer electronic applications via email or the school's web page.

And a whopping 88 percent of these reported that they received more electronic applications than in 2000.

Among the schools reporting more electronic applications this year than last were: Boston College (3,970), Boston U. (3,328), Brandeis U. in Massachusetts (915), Butler U. in Indiana, Case Western Reserve U. in Ohio (680), Centre C. in Kentucky (200), Claremont McKenna C. in California (518), Coe C. in Iowa (400), Dickinson C. in Pennsylvania (870), Elizabethtown C. in Pennsylvania (550), Goddard C. in Vermont (10), Grinnell C. in Iowa (19%), Hampden-Sydney C. in Virginia (245), Kalamazoo C. in Michigan (111), Knox C. in Illinois, Lafayette C. in Pennsylvania (521), Lake Forest C. in Illinois (364), Lehigh U. in Pennsylvania (550), Macalester C. in Minnesota (597) and Mary Baldwin C. in Virginia.

Also receiving more electronic applications this year: Northwood U. in Michigan (35%), The Ohio State U. (3,030), Ohio U. (3,000), Pine Manor C. in Massachusetts (92), Prairie View A&M U. in Texas (1,222), Purdue U. in Indiana (4,000), Reed C. in Oregon (637), Ripon C. in Wisconsin (20%), Rockford C. in Illinois (68), St. Cloud State U. in Minnesota (204), Saint Louis U. (751), Saint Michael's C. in Vermont (352) and Smith C. in Massachusetts (401).

Others tallying more electronic applications also included: Southern Methodist U. in Texas (1,150), the State University of New York (SUNY) at Stony Brook (4,000 +), Temple U. in Pennsylvania (4,500), Truman State U. in Missouri (250), U. of Idaho (2,500), U. of Kansas (40%), U. of Nebraska-Lincoln (35%), U. of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (2,380), U. of North Dakota, U. of Texas at Austin (10,732), U. of Toledo in Ohio (600+), U. of Tulsa (200), U. of Wisconsin-Madison, Wells C. in New York (25%), Wesleyan U. in Connecticut (652), Westminister C. in Missouri (142) and Wittenberg U. in Ohio (400+).

MANY MORE EARLY APPLICATIONS
About 52 percent of the schools in this year's CB survey use Early Decision/ Early Action in their admissions cycle. Of these, 74 percent received more EA/ED applications for this year than last.

"More students are applying under Early Decision programs," said Elena Bernal, Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, "which is a positive trend if students are truly considering which college is best for them, and a negative trend warranting concern if students are merely responding to greater pressure to be admitted to selective colleges."

"Everything is earlier," added Dennis Trotter, Coe College.

Some of the colleges receiving more EA/ED applications included: Adelphi U. in New York (477), Brandeis U. (300), Bryn Mawr C. (109), Butler U. (2,661), Colgate U. in New York (486), Claremont McKenna C. (195), Colorado C. (590), Denison C. in Ohio (151), Dickinson C. (1,267), Grinnell C. (80), Kalamazoo C. (43), Lafayette C. (283), Lake Forest C. (560), LaSalle U. in Pennsylvania (813), Lehigh U. (415), Macalester C. (205), Middlebury C. (822), Oberlin C. in Ohio (273), Old Dominion U. in Virginia, Reed C. (147), Rollins C. in Florida (250), Saint Michael's C. (868), Sarah Lawrence C. in New York, Smith C. (15), Southern Methodist U. (1,395), SUNY Buffalo (394), SUNY Stony Brook (400+) and Wells C. (15).

Schools that received fewer EA/ED applications for this year than last: Boston C. (3,820), Case Western Reserve U. (160), Centre C. (529), Knox C. (463), Mary Baldwin C. (49), U. of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (1,848) and Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts (200).
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MANY MORE EARLY ADMITS
About 70 percent of the schools that conduct EA/Ed options admitted more students for 2001 than for 2000.

These included: Adelphi U. (475 or 17% of the first-year class), Brandeis U. (179 or about 24% of the first-year class), Bryn Mawr C. (71 or about 21% of the first-year class), Butler U. (2,077 or about 85% of the first-year class), Centre C. (446 or about 43% of the first-year class), Colgate U. (289 or about 38% of the first-year class), Claremont McKenna C. (48 or about 18% of the first-year class), Colorado C. (389 or about 36% of the first-year class), Denison C. (117 or about 17% of the first-year class), Dickinson C. (976), Grinnell C. (45 or about 12% of the first-year class), Hampden-Sydney C. (about 31% of the first-year class), Kalamazoo C. (40 or about 11% of the first-year class), Lafayette C. (166 or about 28% of the first-year class), Lake Forest C. (460 or about 45% of the first-year class), LaSalle U. (605 or about 30% of the first-year class), Lehigh U. (325 or about 30% of the first-year class), List C. in New York (about 25% of the first-year class), Macalester C. (180 or about 21% of the first-year class).

Others admitting more early candidates included: Middlebury C. (252 or about 48% of the first-year class), Oberlin C. (about 30% of the first-year class), Old Dominion U. (about 81% of the first-year class), Providence C. in Rhode Island (544 or about 18 percent of the first-year class), Rider C. in New Jersey (about 16% of the first-year class), Rollins C. (150 or about 32% of the first-year class), Saint Michael's C. (690 or about 42% of the first-year class), Sarah Lawrence C. (about 27% of the first-year class), Smith C. (about 20% of the first-year class), Southern Methodist U. (1,095 or about 40% of the first-year class), SUNY Buffalo (258 or about 8 percent of the first-year class), SUNY Stony Brook (150+ or about 2% of the first-year class), Wells C. (15 or about 32% of the first-year class) and Wesleyan U. (about 41% of the first-year class).

About 22 percent of the colleges that conduct EA/ED options admitted fewer students for this year than last, including: Boston C. (1,610 or about 32% of the first-year class), Case Western Reserve U. (110), Knox C. (343 or about 33% of the first-year class), Mary Baldwin C. (44 or about 13% of the first-year class), Reed C. (109 or about 30% of the first-year class), U. of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (804 or about 22% of the first-year class), Wittenberg U. (about 31% of the first-year class) and Worcester Polytechnic Institute (173 or about 9% of the first-year class). About 1 percent of the schools admitted the same number of EA/ED for this year as last.

MORE TOTAL APPLICATIONS
This year, an overwhelming 75 percent of the colleges and universities in CB's National Admissions Trends Survey attracted more total applications than in 2000.

Among the schools with more applications: Adelphi U. (3,703), Boston U. (27,561), Brandeis U. (6,653), Butler U. (3,165), Carnegie Mellon U. in Pennsylvania (16,701), Centre C. (1,380), Coe C. (1,130), Colgate U. (6,059), Denison C. (3,336), Dickinson C. (3,820), Elizabethtown C. (2,763), Florida International U. (6,627), Franciscan U. of Steubenville in Ohio (780), Goddard C. (153), Grinnell C. (3,000), Hampden-Sydney C. (925), Hillsdale C. in Michigan (925), Hope C. in Michigan (2,110), Husson C. in Maine (1,753), Keene State C. in New Hampshire (3,428), Knox C. (1,430), Lafayette C. in Pennsylvania (5,195), Lake Forest C. (1,606) and LaSalle U. (3,942).

Others receiving more total applications this year than last included: List C. (118), Macalester C. (3,480), Mary Baldwin C. (1,271), Middlebury C. (5,411), Missouri Baptist C. (378), Northeastern Illinois U., Northwood U. (2,645), Oberlin C. (5,656), Ohio Northern U., Ohio U. (12,400), Old Dominion U., Pine Manor C. (497), Prairie View A&M (4,429), Portland State U. in Oregon (2,368), Purdue U. (21,760), Reed C. (1,915), Ripon C. (847), Rollins C. (2,200), St. Cloud State U. (5,679), Saint Louis U. (5,536), Saint Michael's C. (2,550), Santa Clara U. in California (6,025), Sarah Lawrence C. (2,782), Southern Methodist U. (5,778), SUNY Buffalo (16,027), SUNY Stony Brook (17,000), Temple U. (14,500), the U. of California Santa Barbara (34,022), U. of California Santa Cruz (23,931), U. of Charleston (1,550), U. of Idaho (5,031), U. of Nebraska-Lincoln (9,643), U. of Oklahoma (7,774), U. of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, U. of Michigan (24,141), U. of North Dakota (3,471), U. of Toledo (7,175), U. of Wisconsin-Madison (21,000), Wells C. (417), Wesleyan U. (7,014) and Westminister C. (666).

Some of the schools which received fewer applications in 2001 compared to last year included: Boston College (19,059), Bryn Mawr C. (1,522), Case Western Reserve U. (4,680), Colorado C. (3,402), Creighton U. in Nebraska (2,650), The Evergreen State U. in Washington (3,219), Kalamazoo C. (1,326), Lehigh U. (8,042), Messiah C. in Pennsylvania (2,231), Northwest Missouri State U. (2,666), Providence C. (5,440), Rockford C. (937), Smith C. (2,886), Truman State U., U. of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (16,706), U. of Texas at Austin (22,497), Wittenberg U. (2,371) and Worcester Polytechnic Institute (3,137).
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HALF ADMIT MORE
Ultimately, 50 percent of the colleges and universities in CB's 2001 survey admitted more students this year than last. About 39 percent admitted fewer students; the rest admitted about the same number as last year.

Among colleges and universities admitting more students for 2001 than 2000: Adelphi U. (2,530), Butler U. (2,674), Centre C. (1,041), Coe C. (836), Dickinson C. (2,453), Elizabethtown C. (1,900), Franciscan U. of Steubenville (699), Goddard C. (153), Grinnell (46%), Hillsdale C. (800), Husson C. (743), Kalamazoo C. (1,037), Keene State C. (2,682), Knox C. (1,028), Lake Forest C. (1,109), LaSalle U. (3,161), Mary Baldwin C. (1,038), Missouri Baptist C. (290), Northeastern Illinois U., Northwood U. (2,045), Ohio U. (9,200), Pine Manor C. (359), Portland State U. (1,986), Ripon C. (710), St. Cloud St. U. (4,447), Saint Louis U. (3,823), Sarah Lawrence C. (1,072), Southern Methodist U. (3,983), U. Cal. Santa Barbara (17,018), U. Cal. Santa Cruz (18,837), U. Idaho (4,057), U. North Carolina Chapel Hill (6,341), U. North Dakota (2,346), U. Texas at Austin (13,335), U. of Toledo (6,990), Wells C. (369) and Westminister C. (535).

The schools that admitted fewer total students this year than last included: Boston C. (6,401), Boston U. (13,270), Brandeis U. (2,708), Bryn Mawr C. (909), Carnegie Mellon U. (5,210), Claremont McKenna C. (829), Colgate U. (2,238), C. of Mt. St. Joseph in Ohio (544), Colorado C. (1,913), Creighton U. (2,348), Denison C. (1,947), The Evergreen State C. (2,768), Florida International U. (3,058), Hampden-Sydney C. (711), Lehigh U. (3,750), List C. (70), Macalester C. (1,749), Messiah C. (1,742), Middlebury C. (1,222), Northwest Missouri State U. (2,285), Oberlin C. (2,091), Prairie View A&M (2,884), Providence C. (3,100), Reed C. (1,324), Rockford C. (615), St. Michael's C. (1,636), Smith C. (1,559), SUNY Stony Brook (8,500), Temple U. (8,300), Truman State U., U. Michigan (12,594), Wesleyan U. (1,796), Wittenberg U. (2,055) and Worcester Polytechnic Institute (2,493).

YIELDS MOSTLY UP
About 45 percent of the colleges and universities in this year's CB survey posted higher yields than last year. The yield is the percent of accepted students who actually enroll in the fall term. Reed College, for example, saw "an increased yield."

But 34 percent of the schools in this year's survey tallied smaller yields for 2001 versus 2000. And 18 percent saw their yields hold steady this year.

"Students wait longer to make their final decision," observed L. Kent Barnds, Elizabethtown. Knox College also said there was an increasing number of very late decisions. William Strausbaugh, Messiah College, said he too sees more students waiting "until the last minute to decide."

Among the colleges and universities with higher yields this year than last were: Butler U. (35%), Claremont McKenna C. (32%), Colgate U. (33%), Creighton U. (33%), Dickinson U. (25%), Goddard C. (47%), Hampden-Sydney C. (46%), Hillsdale C. (45%), Lafayette C. (29%), Lehigh U. (29%), List C. (69%), Macalester C. (29%), Mary Baldwin C. (30%), Missouri Baptist C. (55%), Northeastern Illinois U., Northwest Missouri State U. (53%), Oberlin C. (36%), Ohio Northern U. (37%), The Ohio State U. (41%), Ohio U. (39%), Prairie View A&M U. (65%), Portland State U. (59%), Providence C. (30%), Reed C. (30%), Rider C. (30%), Rockford C. (50%), Rollins C. (33%), St. Cloud State U. (54%), Sarah Lawrence C. (31%), Smith C. (42%), SUNY Buffalo (30%), Temple U. (40%), Truman State U. (36%), U. of Michigan (44%), U. of North Carolina (58%), U. of North Dakota (56%), U. of Wisconsin-Madison (57%), Wesleyan C. (26%), Westminster C. (46%), Wittenberg C. (30%) and Worcester Polytechnic Institute (28%).

Some of the schools with lower yields this year than last included: Boston C. (33%), Boston U. (27%), Brandeis U. (27%), Bryn Mawr C. (37%), Case Western Reserve U. (23%), Centre C. (29%), Columbia College Chicago (72%), Denison C. (29%), Florida International U. (46%), Franciscan U. of Steubenville (47%), Grinnell C. (29%), Keene State U. (39%), Knox C. (27%), Lake Forest C. (31%), LaSalle U. (27%), Messiah C. (40%), Old Dominion (37%), Pine Manor C. (47%), Purdue U. (39%), Ripon C. (28%), Saint Louis U. (36%), Southern Methodist U. (34%), U. Cal. Santa Cruz (21%), U. of Illinois-UC (52%), U. of Oklahoma (58%), U. of Texas-Austin (55%), U. of Toledo (45%) and Wells C. (28%).
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FIRST-YEAR CLASS SIZES
In the end, 56 percent of the 90 colleges and universities in CB's 2001 survey fielded larger first-year classes this year than last. About 30 percent ended up with smaller first-year classes in 2001 than in 2000, many by design; the rest settled with the same number of students as last year.

Colleges and universities with larger first-year classes in 2001 than 2000 included: Adelphi U. (690), Butler U. (930), Coe C. (302), Colgate U. (715), Columbia C. Chicago (1,523), Dickinson C. (611), Elizabethtown C. (525), Franciscan U. of Steubenville (328), Goddard C. (38), Hampden-Sydney C. (329), Hillsdale C. (345), Hope C. (763), Husson C. (360), Kalamazoo C. (340), Lafayette C. (579), Lake Forest C. (336), LaSalle U. (854), List C. (48), Macalester C. (505), Mary Baldwin C. (269), Missouri Baptist C. (160), Northwood U. (820), Ohio U. (3,700), Ohio Northern U. (887), The Ohio State U. (5,894), Old Dominion U. (1,575), Pine Manor C. (138), Portland State U. (1,286), Prairie View A&M U. (1,323), Rider U. (845), Rollins C. (472), St. Cloud State U. (2,400), Saint Michael's C. (529), Sarah Lawrence C. (330), Smith C. (660), Southern Methodist U. (1,353), Temple U. (3,335), Truman State U. (1,459), U. of Cal. Santa Barbara (3,649), U. of Cal. Santa Cruz (3,020), U. of Charleston (410), U. of Idaho (1,629), U. of Illinois-CU (6,221), U. of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (3,687), U. of North Dakota (1,947), Wesleyan U. (725), Westminister C. (248), U. of Wisconsin-Madison (6,100) and Worcester Polytechnic Institute (700).

Schools with smaller class sizes this year than last included: Boston C. (2,103), Boston U. (3,630), Brandeis U. (736), Bryn Mawr (338), Carnegie Mellon (1,320), Case Western Reserve U. (780), Centre C. (300), C. of Mt. St. Joseph (269), Colorado C. (551), Creighton U. (763), Denison C. (553), The Evergreen State C. (469), Florida International U. (1,497), Knox C. (275), Messiah C. (702), Middlebury C. (515), Oberlin C. (573), Purdue U. (6,870), Reed C. (357), Ripon C. (212), Saint Louis U. (1,327), SUNY Buffalo (3,018), U. of Nebraska-Lincoln (3,532), U. of Texas-Austin (7,348), Wells C. (101) and Wittenberg U. (700).
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Testing Tabs
What was the average test score for 2001?

Wait Lists Still a Fact of Life
About 49 percent of the colleges and universities in this year's survey used wait lists this year. Of those, about 51 percent placed more students on their wait lists for 2001 than for 2000.

Colleges and universities with more students on their wait lists this year included: Boston U. (2,713), Brandeis U. (493), Bryn Mawr C. (33), Case Western Reserve U. (310), Centre C. (121), Colorado C. (474), Denison C. (337), Elizabethtown C. (120), Florida International U. (1,228), Hope C. (41), Lake Forest C. (113), Macalester C. (251), Mary Baldwin C. (15), Middlebury C. (1,195), Rollins C. (150), Saint Michael's C. (340), Sarah Lawrence C. (587), Southern Methodist U. (555), U. of Illinois-U.C., U. Michigan (2,245 offers) and the U. Wisconsin-Madison.

About 28 percent of the schools in this year's survey placed fewer students on their wait lists this year than last year, including: Boston C. (2,000), Carnegie Mellon U. (948), Claremont McKenna C. (256), Grinnell C. (75), Kalamazoo C. (52), Lehigh U. (1,000), Providence C. (908), Reed C. (64), Smith C. (265), U. North Carolina Chapel Hill (647) and Worcester Polytechnic Institute (108).

College with the same size wait list as last year included: Lafayette C. (1,400), Messiah C. (44), Oberlin C. (500), The Ohio State U. (600) and Ohio U. (60).
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Upcoming Deadlines
December 15: Middlebury
January 1: Boston U., Carnegie Mellon, Lafayette, Lehigh, List (Barnard degree program), U. of Illinois, U. of North Dakota, Wesleyan (CT.)
January 2: Boston C., Claremont McKenna
January 15: Bryn Mawr, Colgate, Colorado C., Macalester, Oberlin, Reed, Santa Clara, Sarah Lawrence, Smith, Southern Methodist, U. of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
January 20: Grinnell
January 31: Brandeis
February 1: Case Western Reserve, Centre, Dickinson, Ohio U., St. Michael's, U. of Michigan, U. of Texas, U. of Wisconsin, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
February 15: Kalamazoo, List (Columbia degree program), Messiah, Ohio State, Rollins
March 1: Coe, Evergreen State, Hampden-Sydney, Lake Forest, Old Dominion, Purdue, Truman State, Wells
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THE COUNSELOR'S CORNER
Is Student Debt A Big Problem?
EACH YEAR, CB asks colleges a question based on queries from our readers. Last year, for example, you wondered if colleges used interviews in the admissions process. This year, CB asked, "is student debt a big program with your students?" Here is what colleges responded.

NO.
Most colleges answered "no." The colleges said the following:

"It depends, but most aid packages will include some portion of loan." Boston C.

"The University offers generous merit aid." Brandeis

"We work very closely with our students to give them optimal financial assistance." Butler

"Comparatively, no. Our average 'debt load' is lower than the national average." Colgate

"We package with relatively small loan amounts." Claremont McKenna

"No, because the average student indebtedness upon graduation is approximately half the cost of one year at Dickinson." Dickinson

"Our average 2001 graduating senior debt was lower than that of the public colleges in our state." Grinnell

"We have great repayment of loans and see little default." Elizabethtown

"It pales in comparison to consumer debt most families take on at a higher interest rate." Hope

"We try and keep loans manageable for our students." Lafayette

"We meet 100 percent need and maintain low debt in package." Lake Forest

"We offer merit awards and meet 100 percent of demonstrated need for eligible families." List

"Financial aid includes grant and work study as well as debt loan." Macalester

"They (students) have merit-based/state funding as part of their package. They know well in advance of their loan amount and are counseled concerning it." Mary Baldwin

"Students graduate with the equivalent of one year's tuition worth of debt. That is a reasonable amount." Messiah

"Our self-help package (loan/job) is considered to be reasonable." Middlebury

"We have capped it at $2,600-3,500/ year." Oberlin

"Students default rate has improved." Prairie View A & M.

"Reed meets the full estimated need of its continuing students. The recommended financial aid package usually consists of no more than $16,000 in loans after four years." Reed

"No more than the recent past." Rider

"We limit loan amounts in financial aid awards." Rollins

"Low costs of attending-good scholarships." SUNY Stony Brook

"No. (We are a) public institution (with) lower cost." SUNY Buffalo

"No. (Our) median family income is $100k." UC Santa Barbara

"No. Relatively low tuition for Michigan residents; excellent financial aid packages." U. of Michigan

"No," because of the "low cost." U. of Nebraska-Lincoln

"Competitive and helpful financial aid." Westminster

"Many students value their liberal arts education and are confident about job prospects upon graduation." Wittenberg
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YES.
However, Case Western Reserve said, ""yes. The economic profile of our applicant pool is middle-to-upper-middle class; our packages can include higher self-help levels." Creighton said yes because of a "lack of adequate grant money." Goddard agreed that debt is a problem. Franciscan U. of Steubenville said that "institutional resources are limited."

Portland State U. said it is a big problem because students graduate with a substantial debt load." Providence C. said, "Grants do not cover as much of tuition as families would like." The U. of Toledo said that student debt is a big program because of the "lack of merit based funding that meets TOTAL need and poor student personal budgeting."

A JUDGEMENT CALL
Finally, Husson noted that "the changes in financial aid over the last 10-15 years have put a huge burden on all families." And Knox added, "this is a judgement call. Our need-based aid is excellent, but tuition and fees are high. Overall, less of a problem than other private colleges." Ohio Northern said, "Our students do borrow and have a variety of loan options with the best rates ever. Debt is always a concern, but our grads get good positions and defaults are very low." And Saint Michael's added, "Student debt exists for many of our students, but is looked at as a good investment in their future."

And Lehigh stated, "We educate students about credit card abuse."
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Tuition Tabs

How one university views the
debt load...
"Although student debt is always an important issue and there is never enough grant and scholarship aid, student debt does not seem to be a difficult issue for most students," said Cheryl Jorgenson, U. of Oklahoma. "It is true that students are borrowing more than ever before; however, as borrowing has increased, so has the University of Oklahoma's focus on educational programs regarding budgeting and debt management. Additionally, the state guarantee agency has implemented default prevention initiatives that have proven effective. An indictor the debt is being managed well among students at the University of Oklahoma is that status of the Official Cohort Default Rate. Each of the past four years the default rate has decreased, from 8.3 % in 1996 to a current (1999) rate of 2.5%, which marks a record low default rate for the University of Oklahoma."
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COLLEGE BOUND's Publisher/Editor: R. Craig Sautter, DePaul University; Chief Operating Officer: Sally Reed; Contributor: Marc Davis; Circulation: Irma Gonzalez-Hider; Illustration: Louis Coronel; Board of Advisors: Rosita Fernandez-Rojo, Choate-Rosemary Hall; Claire D. Friedlander, Bedford (NY) Central School District; Howard Greene, author, The Greenes' Guides to Educational Planning Series; Frank C. Leana, Ph.D., educational counselor; Virginia Vogel, Educational Guidance Services; M. Fredric Volkmann, Washington University in St. Louis, Mary Ann Willis, Bayside Academy (Daphne, Ala.).

In This Issue

Feature Article
Applications Continue
to Soar

-Testing Tabs
-Wait Lists Still a Fact of Life
-Upcoming Deadlines

THE COUNSELOR'S
CORNER
Is Student Debt A
Big Problem?

-Tuition Tabs
-How one university views
the debt load...