With deposits for
the Class of 2008 running at 545 – three less than this time last year –
faculty and staff were busy this week with some last-minute recruiting.
“These
students are thrilled to be coming to Union,” said Dan
Lundquist, vice president for admissions, who met with many
of them at a series of accepted candidates' days. “And it is Union's
good fortune to be getting them here. Highly motivated and involved, their
arrival is well timed for the inauguration of the Minerva Houses this fall.”
Union
admitted 47 percent of just over 4,100 applicants — the second-largest pool
ever — for the Class of 2008.
The admits have
what Lundquist calls “a larger academic high end,” and after some head-to-head
competition with the Ivies, Union has gone to selective
use of the wait list.
About half of the
admitted students applied for aid, and the scholarship budget has not been
exceeded, Lundquist said. “Compared to several of our direct competitors – some
who don't have their desired class number and have gone over on aid, and
another that has its class but is over by hundreds of thousands of dollars — I
feel in relatively good shape,” Lundquist noted.
Academic quality
indicators will meet or exceed those of last year, Lundquist said. And despite
admitting the same number of students of color, matriculation is trailing last
year due to “intense competition from esteemed institutions,” he said.