Purdue Applications on The Rise
Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowPurdue University's Office of Admissions is seeing another busy application year. The school says applications for the fall have increased 10 percent over this time last year.
December 18, 2014
News Release
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue University is poised to receive a record number of applications from prospective first-year students seeking admission for fall 2015, according to preliminary admissions data.
So far, when compared with this time last year, applications to Purdue have increased 10 percent, said Pamela T. Horne, associate vice provost for enrollment management and dean of admissions. Last year, Purdue experienced a large, anticipated increase in applications due to its adoption of the nationwide Common Application.
Further, year to date, 21 percent more applications to Purdue have been started but not submitted through the Common Application. All currently enrolled high school students must use the Common Application to apply to Purdue.
The latter statistic suggests that the increase will continue throughout the application season, Horne said.
Officials say Purdue’s growing reputation for excellence with affordability in addition to the high return on investment from a Purdue degree can be credited for some of the increase.
“This strong national and international reputation coupled with strategically enhanced recruitment are key drivers of the growth in application volume,” Horne said.
“The increase is welcome, as it enables Purdue to strategically shape a class that is well prepared for our rigorous academic setting and that will contribute to the campus environment in dynamic and diverse ways.”
So far this year, applications have increased across the board, including all demographics and academic cohorts.
Horne said she is particularly proud of Purdue's increase among in-state applicants because of the work the Office of Admissions has put into recruiting Indiana students, forging strong relationships with Indiana high school counselors, and communicating with students and parents about what it takes to be successful at Purdue.
In handling the increase in applications, staff members in the Office of Admissions and the Office of International Students and Scholars are working at an unprecedented level, Horne said.
The first admission decisions were released online at 5 p.m. on Friday (Dec. 12). Admitted students began to receive mailed packets the next day.
The newest Boilermakers have taken to social media to share excitement about their admission. Much of this activity, including a student-produced welcome video, can be seen at http://www.admissions.purdue.edu/admitted/purduepride.php.
Staff members will continue to make admission decisions at the rate of several hundred each day throughout the application season, Horne said. These students have until May 1, which is the national candidate reply date, to accept their offers of admission.
During the past several months, staff members have processed and holistically reviewed 19,000 applications, each of which contains multiple documents and other credentials.
With most students applying close to the merit scholarship consideration deadline of Nov. 1, 14,000 of the 19,000 decisions were made in a span of just six weeks. Last year at this time, the Admissions Committee had made only 15,000 decisions, Horne said.
Horne credited staff members in the Office of Admissions and Office of International Students and Scholars for their ongoing hard work, and she extended credit to Purdue's Student Systems Competency Center, which developed a new electronic workflow that supports admissions work.
President Mitch Daniels said the rise in applications is indicative of staff members' excellent work and of Purdue's commitment to extending a world-class education to all who meet the university's challenging admission standards.
“At Purdue, we are determined to deliver higher education at the highest proven value,” Daniels said. “It seems clear that today's more cost-conscious, value-conscious students are taking notice.”
Source: Purdue University