Vol. 22 No. 6 February 2008

SPECIAL ISSUE Part II
CB's 22nd Annual National Admissions Trends Survey Continued...
WELCOME BACK to the second part of COLLEGE BOUND's annual national survey of admissions officers, representing a range of schools coast to coast. This month looks at some of the students who got in-men and women, international and minority students, and examples of the GPA's and test scores of the fall incoming class. (Complete details will be available in CB's annual Who Got In?)

How Minority Students, Females
and International Studetd Fared
GENDER BALANCE OF MALE TO FEMALE STUDENTS
Talk about the state of the gender balance in colleges filled newsprint and the airwaves last year. What were people inside admissions offices saying?

Marc. G. Williare, director of admissions at Flagler C. in St. Augustine, Florida, saw "fewer men" in 2007. Jim Amidon, director of public affairs and marketing, Wabash C., said, "The competition for men, which has a strong impact on Wabash, is fierce." Mary Ann Naso, vice president, enrollment, Wilson C. in Pennsylvania, saw "more interest in women's colleges." And at the U. of Oklahoma, Cheryl Jorgenson, assistant provost, said "The first-time freshman class is larger than the previous year and has continued to be composed of more women then men."

Below are some of the colleges reporting the ratio of male to female freshmen students, rounded to the nearest percentage.

Adelphi U. (32% male to 68% female), American U. (34/66), Aquinas C. (35/65), Augustana C. (37/63), Babson C. (55/45), Baldwin-Wallace C. (49/51), Barry U. (29/71), Binghamton U. SUNY (53/47), Bucknell U. (50/50), Campbellville U. (55/45), Carleton C. (50/50), Carlow (4/96), Carnegie Mellon U. (60/40), Claremont McKenna C. (54/46), Clearwater Christian C. (49/51), Clemson U. (52/48), Colgate U. (49/51), College of Mount St. Joseph (48/52), Cornell C. (50/50), Creighton U. (39/61), Dartmouth C. (50/50), DePauw U. (45/55), Dickinson C. (49/51), Duquesne U. (42/58), Elon U. (42/58), Embry-Riddle Aeronautical U.-Daytona Beach (85/15), Embry-Riddle Aeronautical U.-Prescott, AZ (84/16), Emory U. (48/52), Evergreen State U. (49/51), Flagler C. (38/62), Florida Institute of Technology (72/28), Florida State U. (44/56), Franciscan U. (40/60), Georgia Southern U. (54/46), Hampden-Sydney C. (100/0), Harris-Stowe U. (25/75), Harvey Mudd C. (57/43), Hood C. (32/68), Husson C. (47/53), Indiana State U. (49/51) and Ithaca C. (41/59).

James Madison U. (38/62), Johns Hopkins U. (51/49), Kalamazoo C. (41/59), Keene State C. (41/59), Lafayette C. (53/47), Lawrence U. (47/53), Lehigh U. (62/38), Lewis & Clark C. (40/60), Linfield C. (42/58), Longwood U. (34/66), Louisiana State U. (47/53), Marygrove C. (29/71), Marymount Manhattan C. (25/75), Marywood U. (30/70), Monmouth C. (46/54), Moravian C. (47/53), Mount Mercy C. (26/74), Nazareth C. (36/64), Oberlin C. (45/55), Ohio U. (48/52), Ohio Wesleyan U. (47/53), Oregon State U. (52/48), Philadelphia Biblical U. (46/54), Prairie View A&M U. (38/62), Providence C. (44/56), Purdue U. (57/43), Quincy U. (55/45), Reed C. (45/55), Sacred Heart U. (40/60), St. Bonaventure U. (50/50), St. Lawrence U. (39/61), St. Olaf C. (46/54), Saint Michael's C. (47/53), Santa Clara U. (48/52), Sweet Briar C. (0/100), U. Arizona (48/52), U. of the Arts (38/61), U. of Colorado at Boulder (51/49), U. of Dayton (49/51), U. of Florida (29/71), U. of Idaho (53/47), U. of Iowa (45/55), U. North Carolina-Chapel Hill (40/60), U. of North Dakota (52/48), U. of North Florida (42/58), U. of Notre Dame (52/48), U. of Oklahoma (48/52), U. of Rochester (49/51), Valparaiso U. (48/52), Vassar C. (40/60), Virginia Tech U. (55/45), Wabash C. (100/0), Wartburg C. (49/51), Webber (79/21) and Whitman C. (41/59).

MINORITY STUDENTS ADMITS
Each year, COLLEGE BOUND asks admissions officers how many minority students they admitted and whether or not this was more or less than in previous year. For years, CB asked colleges to break down the percent of students who were African American, Hispanic, Asian or Native American to get a more accurate picture of minority representation on campus. Last year, CB decided to just ask the question in general. But readers asked us to again gather the percent of each group.

This year, the majority of colleges at press time said they admitted more minority students in 2007 than in 2006. Admissions officers did make a point of commenting this year about the minority applications. For example, Michele Sandlin, director, Oregon State U., said she noted greater diversity as an admissions trend in 2007. Luke Anderson, enrollment information manager, St. Olaf C., noted that the applicants last year were "more geographically and ethnically diverse than ever before." And Edith Waldstein, vice president for enrollment management, Wartburg C., saw a "significant increase in applications for both majority and minority students."

Below are examples of colleges who admitted either fewer and more minority students in 2007 compared to 2006 with the percent (rounded off) of admitted students who are African American, Hispanic, Asian and Native American.

Fewer: Bucknell U. (3/3/7/.3), College of Mt. St. Joseph (4/1/.6/.6), Hampden-Sydney C. (8/2/2/1), Harvey Mudd C. (3/7/27/1), Marygrove C. (59/2/2/0), St. Lawrence U. (3/3/2/1), Webber International University.

More: Adelphi U. (12/13/12/.3, and 5 percent of the students admitted said they were two or more races), American U. (8/7/6/1), Babson C. (3/8/14/1), Campbellville U. (13/1/1/0), Carnegie Mellon U. (5/5/23/1), Claremont McKenna C. (9/14/17/1), Colgate U., College of Mount St. Joseph (4/1/6/.6), Cornell C. (2/3/3/1), Creighton U. (3/5/9/1), Dartmouth C., noting the percentage enrolled, (8/7/14/3), DePauw U. (8/3/3/.3), Dickinson C. (4/6/6/.4), Duquesne U. (3/2/3/1), Elon U. (5/5/3/1), Embry-Riddle Aeronautical U.-Daytona Beach (6/9/6/0), Embry-Riddle Aeronautical U.-Prescott, AZ (2/9/8/2), Emory U. (10/4/28/1), Evergreen State U. (4/5/6/3), Flagler C. (6/4/2/1), Georgia Southern U. (19/3/2/1), Husson C. (2/1/1/1), Indiana State U. (19/2/1/0), Ithaca C. (3/5/4/1), James Madison U. (4/3/6/.2), Lafayette C. (6/8/6/0), Lawrence U. (2/3/4/.2), Lehigh U. (5/7/11/0), Marymount Manhattan C. (8/12/4/1), Moravian C. (3/4/2/0), Nazareth C. (4/4/3/1), Ohio U. (4/2/1/0), Prairie View A&M U. (88/4/2/0), Providence (2/5/3/.2), Purdue U. (4/3/7/1), Reed C. (5/7/11/1), St. Bonaventure U. (3/2/3/0), St. Olaf C. (2/2/5/.3), Santa Clara U. (5/NA/15/.2), U. Arizona (4/16/7/3), U. of Idaho (2/5/3/1), U. of Iowa (3/3/4/1), U. North Carolina-Chapel Hill (11/6/10/1), U. of North Dakota (1/1/1/2), U. of North Florida (8/9/5/1), U. of Notre Dame (5/12/10/1), U. of Oklahoma (5/5/5/7), U. of Rochester (6/6/14/1), Valparaiso U. (6/5/2/1), Vassar C. (9/10/15/1), Virginia Tech U. (5/4/9/1), Wabash C. (9/6/3/1), Wartburg C. (3/2/1/0) and Whitman C. (1/5/12/1).

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS UP
CB asked admissions officers, "How many international students did you accept in 2007 and was this more than in 2006?" Also, "from where do the majority of international students come?"

The vast majority of colleges said they admitted more international students in 2007 than in 2006. Dartmouth, in particular, noted an increase in international students. Here are examples of what other colleges said about the number of students and the country of origin for the majority of new students:

Fewer International Students: American U. (508, Japan), Augustana C. (23, Norway), Bucknell U. (54, Japan, China, Myanmar, Canada), Cornell C. (7, Southeast Asia and Islands, Africa), Embry-Riddle Aeronautical U.-Prescott, AZ (47, India, Brazil, Republic of South Korea), Flagler C. (11, Sweden), Hampden-Sydney C. (17, Nepal), Harris-Stowe U. (9, Nigeria, Italy), Husson C. (6, Canada), Kalamazoo C. (18, China, France, Israel, Japan), Longwood U. (31, Europe), Louisiana State U. (95, Honduras, Nigeria, Canada), Ohio U. (346, India), St. Bonaventure U. (23, Canada), U. of Idaho (82, China, India), U. of North Florida (28, France, India, Belize), U. of Notre Dame (107), U. of Rochester (257, East Asia), Valparaiso U. (83, Saudi Arabia, Germany, China), Wabash C. (18).

More: Babson C. (222, Turkey, Venezuela, Korea), Barry U. (71, Latin America), Binghamton U. SUNY (574, Korea, Turkey, China), Carleton C. (47), Carnegie Mellon U. (732, Korea, India), Claremont McKenna C. (9 percent, Southeast Asia, India), Creighton U. (40), Dartmouth C. (190, all over), DePauw U. (78, India, Bulgaria, China), Dickinson C. (89, Eastern Europe, India, South America), Elon U. (185, UK, Canada, Germany, Honduras, Korea), Embry-Riddle Aeronautical U.-Daytona Beach (297, India, Republic of South Korea, United Kingdom), Emory U. (364, South Korea, China, India, Brazil, Panama), Evergreen State U. (11), Florida Institute of Technology (379, Middle East, Caribbean Islands, Asia).

Florida State U. (101, Canada), Franciscan U. (25, Canada), Georgia Southern U. (114, Nigeria, Bahamas, Honduras, Japan, Canada), Harvey Mudd C. (20), Hood C. (20, Far East), Indiana State U. (11, Saudi Arabia), Ithaca C. (216, Europe, Asia, Middle East, Caribbean), James Madison U. (159, Asia), Johns Hopkins U. (257, Korea), Lafayette C. (137, all over, Southeast Asia), Lawrence U. (93, China, Bangladesh, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia), Marymount Manhattan C. (70, Southeast Asia), Marywood U. (18, Eastern Europe, Africa, Asia), Moravian C. (9, Nepal, South Korea, Czech Republic), Ohio Wesleyan U. (215, Pakistan, Vietnam, China), Oregon State U. (Pacific Rim), Philadelphia Biblical U. (18, Canada), Prairie View A&M U. (77, Jamaica), Providence C. (81, Ireland, Canada), Purdue U. (India, China), Reed C. (19, Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe), St. Lawrence U. (83, Canada), St. Olaf C. (24, China, Southeast Asia, Norway), U. Arizona (609, China), U. of the Arts (78, Korea), U. of Colorado at Boulder (173, People's Republic of China, India, South Korea, Taiwan, Saudi Arabia), U. of Iowa (328, China), U. North Carolina-Chapel Hill (174, South Korea, China, India, Canada), U. of North Dakota (473, Canada), U. of Oklahoma (114, Asia), Vassar C. (90, all over), Virginia Tech U. (359, India), Wartburg C. (103, Japan), Webber (29, Sweden) and Whitman C. (42, Asia, Europe, Latin America).

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On Essays, Vists and Test Scores
Admissions officers in a variety of institutions noted other trends in 2007.

More students are moving "to electronic submission," said Michael Stedel, director, Carnegie Mellon U.

Adam Sapp, assistant dean, Claremont McKenna, said he spotted "needy parents."

At the same time, Peggy Minnich, director of admission, C. of Mount St. Joseph, said she spotted "students who seemed very stressed about the admission/application process.

Meanwhile, Dartmouth's assistant director of admissions, Colleen Wearn, saw an "increase in the diversity of the student body, especially the number of international students."

"It is a competitive admission marketplace," said Brett E. Kennedy, senior associate director of admission, DePauw U.

At Purdue U., Jerry Ripke, assistant director of admissions, said he saw "more applications for pre-pharmacy and other health-related programs."

And Jacqueline Murphy, director of admission, Saint Michael's C., was one of several colleges noting a "steep increase in campus visits" and "lots of stress."

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Looking for Students
CB gives admissions officers a chance to say what special talents or skills they seek among the 2008 applicants. Here is what a few said.

Adelphi U. Critical thinking; service to community/HS involvement.
Baldwin-Wallace C. Writing skills; extracurricular activities.
Binghamton U. SUNY. Well-rounded students who take a rigorous academic curriculum and have been leaders or participated in extracurricular activities.
Carnegie Mellon U. Strong academically; good evidence of leadership.
Claremont McKenna C. Leadership skills.
College of Mount St. Joseph. Students who will enjoy their college experience.
Cornell C. Leadership, community service, and involvement with their high school and community.
Creighton U. Service and leadership.
Dartmouth C. Evidence of intellectual capacity, motivation and personal integrity are prime considerations in the highly competitive admissions process, which also considers talent, accomplishment and involvement in nonacademic areas.
DePauw U. Leadership; intellectual engagement; appreciation for a sense of community.
Dickinson C. Dickinson seeks students who want to make a difference, who are curious about the world and open to different perspectives, who enjoy learning and who want to be actively engaged in their education.
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical U. Good math, science and leadership skills.
Emory U. We strive to build a diverse student community that thrives in the classroom and participates actively in campus life.
Florida Institute of Technology. Good math and science background; math through pre-calculus; biology, chemistry and physics.
Florida State U. Fine arts, performing arts and leadership.
Hampden-Sydney C. Strong character and leadership.
Keene State C. Music, theater and leadership.
Lawrence U. Creativity, engagement, intellectual and smart, and multi-interested.
Louisiana State U. Special talents are reviewed if students are applying to Music, Dramatic Arts or Art, and Design Colleges.
Moravian C. Leadership, math, science and music interests/skills.
Nazareth C. Students seeking degrees in a visual or performing arts.

More on what colleges seek next month.

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THE COUNSELOR'S CORNER
Advice from Admissions Officers
EACH YEAR, CB asks admissions officers for advice for next year's applications. A number of colleges recommended that students apply early.Here's some other advice admissions officers had for 2008 applications:

Adelphi U. Take a demanding college prep program through 12th grade; read and write as much as possible; be involved in high school and community activities; visit campus before applying.

Babson C. Study hard and keep up senior year grades!Baldwin-Wallace C. Apply early; fill out FAFSA.
Barry U. Be involved in your community.
Bucknell U. In addition to highlighting their academic credentials, students should use their applications to show why they would be a good fit at the institutions to which they are applying and why they are interested in enrolling there. Because many selective colleges get more highly-qualified applicants than they can admit, students who thoughtfully show why they are interested in enrolling at a particular school can be at an advantage over similarly qualified students who do not demonstrate such an interest.
Claremont McKenna C. Think demographics; create manageable lists of schools.
College of Mount St. Joseph. Bewarea school may be on rolling admission, but still have deadlines for programs and scholarships.
Creighton U. Apply early, visit and notify schools once decision is final.
DePauw U. Rigor of high school courses matters.
Dickinson C. To understand fully what each of their colleges stand for and what makes each college distinctive. Additionally, they should know themselves thoroughly-how they learn best and interact with others-in order to match college characteristics with their own.
Duquesne U. Try to discover the best "fit" for you.
Elon U. Applications should be specific; include everything about activities.
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical U.- Visit your colleges of choice.
Emory U. Emory examines the academic opportunities offered in each applicant's high school and looks to see that the student has taken the most challenging courses available. Applicants should highlight leadership and commitment in their extracurricular activities.
Indiana State U. For full consideration for admission and all academic scholarships, students are encouraged to begin the admission process in the early fall. Students are also encouraged to plan a campus visit where they will have an opportunity to explore campus, meet with admissions and financial aid representatives and meet faculty one-on-one.
James Madison U. Focus on academics over extracurricular activities.
Kalamazoo C. Visit the campuses you are seriously considering; stay overnight and visit classes.
Lafayette C. Enjoy your senior year by taking time to step back from the stresses of everyday life.
Lawrence U. Relax, breathe and enjoy your search.
Lehigh U. Narrow your list of schools and visit the places you like the best; do a great job on your application.
Longwood U. Do more research on schools before applying.
Moravian C. Have a purposeful, serious but balanced approach to the college admission process. Also, don't cheat to get there.
Mount Mercy C. Be involved in high school and continue in college.
Nazareth C. Keep a full college prep course load in high school; continue taking the core subject area courses in the senior year.
Northeastern U. Select a school that feels comfortable and that offers a variety of programs. Pay close attention to application instructions and be sure to meet all the deadlines. If Northeastern is among your first choices, consider applying Early Action by the November 15 deadline. Students should also get involved in one or two meaningful activities.
Oberlin C. Challenge yourself in high school all the way through your senior year.
Ohio Wesleyan U. Follow up to see that your application is complete.
Oregon State U. Maintain challenging academic work through your senior year.
Pomona C. Be yourself.
Prairie View A&M U. Take all required tests in a timely manner and adhere to deadlines.
St. Bonaventure U. Apply within deadlines and visit campus.
St. Olaf C. Follow your passion in high school; be a leader; be yourself in your college search and applications.
Sacred Heart U. Visit, research and utilize the various technologies that are out there, but keep your search personal by talking with the college representatives.
Saint Michael's C. Be yourself-choose a place that will be good for you, not just for prestige.
U. of Oklahoma. Be aware of application deadlines, both for admission and scholarships. Freshman should consider retaking the ACT or SAT several times if their initial scores do not meet those required for admission.
Wabash C. To maximize your ability to be admitted and to receive full consideration for scholarships and financial aid, applying before December 15 is criticaland not just at Wabash.
Wartburg C. Focus on the college preparatory curriculum and stretch/challenge yourself.

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COLLEGE BOUND's Publisher/Editor: R. Craig Sautter, DePaul University; Chief Operating Officer: Sally Reed; Assistant Editor: Emma Schwartz; Illustration: Louis Coronel; Board of Advisors: David Breeden, Edina High School, Minnesota; Claire D. Friedlander, Bedford (N.Y.) Central School District; Howard Greene and Matthew Greene, authors, The Greenes' Guides to Educational Planning Series; Frank C. Leana, Ph.D., educational counselor; M. Fredric Volkmann, Washington University in St. Louis; Mary Ann Willis, Bayside Academy (Daphne, Ala.).

In This Issue

Feature Articles
How Minority Students,
Females and International
Students Fared

The Average GPA

On Essays, Visits, and Test Scores

Looking for Students

THE COUNSELOR'S
CORNER
Advice from Admissions Officers

Average Test Scores

COMING UP:
A look at financial aid and average TOEFL scores.

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