Let the season begin.
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As application reading and selection get under way, admissions staffers are tackling challenges with their usual high level of energy and enlisting faculty help in yielding a quality class.
“We have more than enough quality candidates to fill the College more than twice over, and we admit them,” said Dan Lundquist, vice president for admissions, in his remarks to faculty Tuesday. “Our challenge is to enroll them. Good news is that we've passed the 4,000 mark and are tracking on last year's record number of 4,300 applicants.”
Lundquist said robust on-campus programming continued to focus on showcasing the campus to hundreds of families, individual students and guidance counselors.
Off-campus, there were big strides, too. In December, the admissions team visited Boston to select the first group of “Posse” students. The much-lauded Posse Foundation trains student leaders from public high schools to form multicultural teams for enrollment at top colleges. Union will welcome its first posse of 10 students, plus two candidates admitted on their own, next fall.
While Lundquist voiced concern about “sobering” challenges involving, among other things, selectivity, quality and financial aid in the increasingly competitive higher ed marketplace, he was “more committed than ever to realizing success on all fronts.”
His staff continues to build and nurture recruiting partnerships with students, coaches, alumni, current parents and especially faculty for the post-admission enrollment process.
Faculty who would like to contact students – student survey data and anecdotes from both faculty and students have shown it's the difference that can make the difference – may reach Lundquist at lunquid@union.edu or ext. 6112.