Applications for admission rise from previous years
Tajreen Hedayet
Issue date: 2/27/08 Section: Features
Applications are up and the applicant pool is becoming more and more competitive, according to the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid. Director of Admissions Steve Thomas gave the Echo an inside look into the statistics on the future class of 2012.
Overall, applications to Colby are up 3 percent, with an astounding 60 percent increase in Maine applicants alone. Thomas expressed his belief that this is a direct result of the new plan to replace loans with grants, allowing students to graduate debt-free. This popular plan resulted in the largest increase in applications ever, outshining previous attempts to recruit Maine students, which included receptions for guidance counselors, open houses for Maine students and alumni outreach. The number of applications from Maine climbed from 350 to 500 total.
In January, the board of trustees approved this financial aid plan for all students, rather than only natives of Maine. Next year, students will receive grants in the place of the loans that had previously been packaged into their financial aid. This reflects a nationwide trend toward making undergraduate education more accessible, and similar steps have been adopted by several NESCAC and Ivy League schools.
"Education is expensive," Thomas said. "Part of the ability to do this is the return on our endowment, which has grown considerably. We wanted to use it towards improving Colby for the students, and affordability is a tangible way to do that."
Furthermore, Thomas, emphasized that Colby remains strongly attached to honoring a need-based philosophy. This is not true of all other selective colleges, many of which choose merit driven distribution of aid. At these schools, only 25 percent of most aid awarded is need-based. Colby's commitment to need-based aid has not changed, and an average of $14,000 total per student over a course of four years will be distributed beginning in the fall of 2008.
The Office of Admissions has also seen a four or five percent increase in international applicants. Almost all of the new applicants are exclusively from China, which has now become the largest country of origin for international students. Thomas believes this is due, in part, to Assistant Professor of Economics Philip Brown, who is also affiliated with the East-Asian Studies department. The College has recently enrolled a number of talented Chinese students, which Thomas sees as a reflection of Brown's word of mouth encouragement, and personal interviews in China.
Along with the number of applicants, the median SAT scores have raised significantly as well. Within the entire group, there was an average of a 13-point increase in the writing scores, a 16-point increase in the math scores and an unprecedented 31-point increase in the critical reading scores. "This is a much stronger pool," Thomas said. "Normally you don't see a difference of more than a few points."
Nationwide, applications at many highly selective colleges are up. This is likely due to students submitting more applications to more schools, rather than a general increase in students. With a large, competitive group of applicants, Thomas says frankly, "It becomes complicated to predict which applications get selected." Either way, the new generation of hopeful candidates anxiously awaits the decisions, which will be mailed on March 26. Similarly, the College community looks to invite a bright new generation of students into our midst.
Overall, applications to Colby are up 3 percent, with an astounding 60 percent increase in Maine applicants alone. Thomas expressed his belief that this is a direct result of the new plan to replace loans with grants, allowing students to graduate debt-free. This popular plan resulted in the largest increase in applications ever, outshining previous attempts to recruit Maine students, which included receptions for guidance counselors, open houses for Maine students and alumni outreach. The number of applications from Maine climbed from 350 to 500 total.
In January, the board of trustees approved this financial aid plan for all students, rather than only natives of Maine. Next year, students will receive grants in the place of the loans that had previously been packaged into their financial aid. This reflects a nationwide trend toward making undergraduate education more accessible, and similar steps have been adopted by several NESCAC and Ivy League schools.
"Education is expensive," Thomas said. "Part of the ability to do this is the return on our endowment, which has grown considerably. We wanted to use it towards improving Colby for the students, and affordability is a tangible way to do that."
Furthermore, Thomas, emphasized that Colby remains strongly attached to honoring a need-based philosophy. This is not true of all other selective colleges, many of which choose merit driven distribution of aid. At these schools, only 25 percent of most aid awarded is need-based. Colby's commitment to need-based aid has not changed, and an average of $14,000 total per student over a course of four years will be distributed beginning in the fall of 2008.
The Office of Admissions has also seen a four or five percent increase in international applicants. Almost all of the new applicants are exclusively from China, which has now become the largest country of origin for international students. Thomas believes this is due, in part, to Assistant Professor of Economics Philip Brown, who is also affiliated with the East-Asian Studies department. The College has recently enrolled a number of talented Chinese students, which Thomas sees as a reflection of Brown's word of mouth encouragement, and personal interviews in China.
Along with the number of applicants, the median SAT scores have raised significantly as well. Within the entire group, there was an average of a 13-point increase in the writing scores, a 16-point increase in the math scores and an unprecedented 31-point increase in the critical reading scores. "This is a much stronger pool," Thomas said. "Normally you don't see a difference of more than a few points."
Nationwide, applications at many highly selective colleges are up. This is likely due to students submitting more applications to more schools, rather than a general increase in students. With a large, competitive group of applicants, Thomas says frankly, "It becomes complicated to predict which applications get selected." Either way, the new generation of hopeful candidates anxiously awaits the decisions, which will be mailed on March 26. Similarly, the College community looks to invite a bright new generation of students into our midst.
Be the first to comment on this story