With a dramatic jump over last year in the percentage of those accepting admission, the UI is expecting its largest incoming freshman class ever, according to Keith Marshall, the associate provost who oversees admissions.
The increase came about even though the target number for this fall’s incoming freshman class was set slightly below last year’s, and several hundred fewer students were offered admission.
After figuring in the usual summer fluctuations in the number, Marshall estimated 7,500 to 7,600 new freshmen arriving on campus in the fall, the higher number nearly 5 percent above last year (7,248). He was particularly pleased that the number of students of color who accepted the offer of admission was up by 15 percent compared with this time last year, with the number of African-Americans up more than 25 percent.
“I am delighted by two developments: first, the rather striking increase in the overall number of acceptances, which is virtually unheard of; and second, the increase in the students of color,” said Richard Herman, the chancellor of the Urbana campus. “Both of those increases speak to the enormous effort by admissions staff and alumni to ensure that admitted students recognize the value and excellence of an Illinois education.”
University officials were anticipating a slight increase in the rate of acceptance – what admissions officials call “yield” – over last year, Marshall said. That’s why fewer students were offered admission.
What they couldn’t anticipate was the 7.3 percentage-point increase in the yield, “which is huge by college admissions standards,” Marshall said. “Usually the best you can hope for in any one year is an increase of 1 to 2 percentage points.”
This year, 57.4 percent of admitted students had accepted their offers by the May 1 deadline, compared with 50.1 percent at the same time last year.
The reasons for the increase are open to speculation, Marshall said. There was a drop in applications this year, possibly as a result of more essay-writing required in the application and an increase in tuition. But while that was cause for concern, “it also may have discouraged some of the casual applicants and produced a smaller applicant pool that was more committed to attending Illinois over other schools,” he said.
Another key, he said, may be several activities added to encourage admitted students to pick Illinois, such as alumni calls to highly regarded high school seniors, and setting up online chat sessions between potential and current students.
And then of course there was the dramatic success of the Illinois basketball team, raising the visibility of the school during the months when students are making their final decisions, Marshall said. Other schools have seen a similar effect on their application or acceptance numbers following a successful football or basketball season.
Even with those factors possibly playing a part, Marshall thinks the higher acceptance rate shows that students continue to value the quality of Illinois. “These students have voted with their feet, and a record number have decided that Urbana is the place to be this fall for an affordable, high-quality education.”
The campus is ready for the large incoming class, Marshall said, with class sections being added and campus housing arrangements in the works. “These increased numbers will pose a challenge,” said Acting Provost Jesse Delia, “but this is the kind of challenge we are well equipped to meet. It is wonderful news that so many of those granted admission by Illinois plan to enroll this fall.”
The final enrollment numbers, for the incoming class and the campus as a whole, will be available after the 10th day of class in the fall.
