Union's Class of 2000 – while not yet on campus – is making quite an impression already.
A week after the May 1 reply deadline, Admissions had received a record high 620 deposits, according to Dean of Admissions Dan Lundquist, and a few more could trickle in from foreign students who mailed their replies from abroad.
The yield represents a 15 percent increase – 80 students – over last year's figure of
540 for this point in time. Last year's yield was 29 percent; this year's is 33 percent.
The usual “summer melt” — as other colleges go to their wait lists — could
mean a class as large as 580 this fall, Lundquist said.
“Unless this is a glitch – and we have no reason to think that it is – we could
safely infer that we are really getting out there in the market,” Lundquist said,
citing the efforts of the campus community in recruiting students. Peer institutions with
which Union competes are not reporting unusually large classes and many are under target,
Lundquist said. Skidmore is the only other college in the region that appears to have had
a similar experience — about 80 more than their target of 620.
“Everything we did was geared toward getting a class of 520,” Lundquist said,
noting that Union admitted the same number of students as in other years. The results are
especially remarkable considering that only a few weeks ago deposits were trickling in and
early decisions were down to about 140 (from a high of 170), he said.
Lundquist said that many students put off their decision as long as possible.
“Students and families are taking the entire month to visit, negotiate and make up
their minds. There used to be less shopping. Now, they're waiting until the 11th
hour.”
Union's Class of 1991 — the largest so far — arrived on campus (in 1987) with 550.
The Class of 1990 started with 544, the Class of 1998 with 543.
While Admissions tallies the deposits, others on campus are trying to figure out what
it will mean to have what will likely be the College's largest class. “As a good
campus citizen,” Lundquist said, “I feel for my colleagues.”