Colleges Concerned About Freshman Enrollment

Summer melt is a normal part of the college admission process but, in uncertain economic times, this attrition of freshman students has become a cause for concern on some college campuses.

In an effort to meet enrollment numbers for this upcoming school year, colleges across the country have started increasing the number of admitted freshman and shoring up their waiting lists, according to an article in the Washington Post.

The Chronicle of Higher Education conducted a survey of 142 colleges and universities and found that private colleges have hedged their bets against the recession by admitting 8.7 percent more students for this school year. Public colleges have admitted 3.1 percent more students while the average freshman class has grown by about 2 percent.

College admission offices have also started more outreach programs for this year’s incoming freshman class so that they can encourage admitted students with weekly newsletters and personal phone calls.

"It's critical we hit the target of how many kids are coming to (Virginia) Tech in fall," said Mark Owczarski, a spokesman for Virginia Tech. With cutbacks in funding, "we'll need that tuition money," he said.

As the college admission process starts for another hopeful high school senior class this year, remember to take advantage of these new outreach programs many colleges have started. Since many colleges are investing more time than ever on admissions, they may have some additional programs or events available for a high school senior to attend that can help build his/her potential college list.

For more information on guiding your student through the college admissions process, contact The College Trail.