By Monique Balas
News-Chronicle
College applicants and Preble High School seniors Claudia Borlee and Maggie Maes knew they were up against a tough round of competition this year. That's why they wanted to get a head start by sending their applications in ahead of time.
"I had heard (University of Wisconsin) Eau Claire had been receiving a lot more applications earlier than normal," said Borlee, who'd like to become a sports psychologist.
The school only accepts about 1,500 students and awards a limited number of scholarships, "so that's what told me to get my butt in gear," Borlee said. "I was afraid I wouldn't be on top of the pile."
She submitted her application by Nov. 5 and got her acceptance about two weeks ago, she said.
Maes wasn't taking any chances, either.
She sent her application to the University of Wisconsin-Madison at the end of September and found out she was accepted in early November.
"Even though they say it doesn't matter when you send it in, they say they don't look at it any differently, they say they look at it equally, they can't," said Maes, who is undecided about her major.
At the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, dean of students Sue Keihn said the school has received about 10 percent more applications than in years past.
As of Monday, incoming freshman applications are up by about 7 percent at UWGB and by 8 percent within the University of Wisconsin system, said Pam Harvey-Jacobs, director of admissions at UWGB.
"Every year for almost as long as I can remember, we've gone up," Harvey-Jacobs said.
The university has received 2,257 freshman applications for the 2004-05 school year. By Dec. 1 in previous years, it had received 2,106 applications for the 2003-04 year and 1,663 for 2002-03.
"We're above last year and we had a record year last year," Keihn said. At UWGB, what this means for freshman applications is simple: The early applicants get the spots. Admissions requirements aren't necessarily getting more stringent, but many of the applicants who apply earlier tend to have stronger academic records, Harvey-Jacobs said.
"There are two factors: the academic criteria that the students submit, but there's also a timing factor. Typically, the stronger students tend to apply earlier," she said, "and for that reason, the strength of our class has grown pretty continually."
The increased numbers mean UWGB, which accepts applications on a rolling basis, is starting to cut off when has hit a target number - usually about 900 to 1,000 freshmen, depending on school resources, Keihn said. In the last few years, that cutoff has been about Feb. 1.
"We close when we hit our target, so there's been a certain amount of self-selection going there," Harvey-Jacobs said.
Dan Meyer, dean of admissions at St. Norbert College, said his school has seen a similar trend over the last two years. Beyond a slight increase in the amount of high school graduates, Meyer said he's uncertain where the increase stems from but he has discussed the issue with officials from other colleges.
"We're running right now about 15 percent ahead of where we were last year at this time," he said. "If that trend continues we'd be at record numbers (at least, within the past 12 years when the numbers were tracked). And I would assume it's probably a record for the college," Meyer said.
Generally, St. Norbert gets about 1,700 applicants, but the pool has run as low as 1,300 and as high as 1,715.
"At the rate we're going now, we could be at 1,850," Meyer said.
Like UWGB, St. Norbert operates on a rolling admissions basis. Now more than ever, though, the student's chances of acceptance are riding on the timeliness of the application - Borlee and Maes played it right.
"It's kind of like being on a pinhead, where it used to be a little bit larger, now the bubble is smaller. If we have better students who are applying in larger numbers, it does push students who are on the bubble to fewer and fewer spots," Meyer said.
Traditionally, St. Norbert accepts students who meet or exceed the school's expectations, which in the past has been about 82 percent to 83 percent of the applicants.
"We've tried to slowly take that number down," Meyer said. "It's getting more difficult for students, because we have more students applying up front, and if they have better qualifications, that elevates the pool for everybody. And when you make admissions decisions, you don't have to take as many chances on a student."
He expects about 75 percent to 80 percent of next year's freshman class applications to be in by Jan. 1. Sometimes athletes hold out longer until they can meet coaches before they submit their applications, but Meyer cautioned against waiting.
"What it actually does is, really for us, it severely limits their housing options," he said. "You'll still get housed, but your options may be a lit less desirable. This may not be the best time to procrastinate."
A statewide trend?
While Green Bay's two four-year colleges have seen increases by 7 percent to 15 percent, applications to Marquette University in Milwaukee skyrocketed last year and the 2004-05 year could be even bigger.
"Our applications are up considerably," said Roby Blust, dean of undergraduate admissions at Marquette. "Last year was the first year that we'd ever gone over 8,000 freshman applications in our history." So far this year, the school has received more than 6,500 applications. Generally, the school gets about 5,000-6,000.
Blust attributed improvements to the campus as reasons for the growth. "I think there's a lot of good things happening at Marquette, anything from new buildings to core curriculum, and certainly a lot of excitement in the trip to the Final Four in men's basketball," he said. "We'll know more as the school year goes along."
About 1,880 students were admitted for the 2003-04 class, Blust said, "but this year we're going to be looking for a smaller freshman class" - about 1,750.
"We're probably being a little bit tougher than in the past. I think it's really going to affect students more, the students that wait to apply."
As a result of the higher applications, Blust expects the cutoff date to be about Feb. 1.
"I've noticed that either (students) get their applications out right away or they're waiting," Borlee said. "I'm scared for those people."
Ironically, however, the trend hasn't shown itself to someone charged with helping high school students apply to colleges.
"To tell you the truth, I'm seeing the students sending in less applications," said Pat Colwitz, department chair for Student Services and a guidance counselor at Preble High School. "Only a week or so ago I went through the senior conference forms (where she meets with students to find out their plans) and when I looked at those forms, I said, 'What are you doing?'"
Colwitz said she strongly emphasizes the importance of early application. She worries that many of her students are simply putting off the process because they are hard-pressed for time.
"Between after-school activities and jobs, I think some of the kids are just so busy that they just don't get around to it," Colwitz said. "I think somehow they have to prioritize the time, and that's hard to do when pressure is coming from all sides."
Technical college sees rise, too
Even though it's a two-year school and offers different programs than four-year schools do, Northeast Wisconsin Technical College is seeing an increase in its applications, as well.
"Our enrollment is going to be up at least 10 percent," predicted NWTC president Jeff Rafn.
Last year the school had 5,270 full-time equivalent students; for next year Rafn projects about 5,800.
"As of (Wednesday), we have 4,500 enrolled and normally we will take another 1,500 between now and the end of the year, so we could be bumping up to 6,000," Rafn said.
He cited four reasons for the upswing.
The school has worked to be more flexible to those balancing work and studies by offering online, evening, weekend and summer courses.
"But the economy certainly plays a role in this, too," Rafn said. "People can come here and in a relatively short period of time can get a degree relatively quickly."
A new Health Sciences building and other improvements have contributed to the school's application influx.
Students who don't get in to the University of Wisconsin system might come to NWTC, or if they can't get into a specific class they can take an equivalent class at the technical college and transfer.
Rafn said about 95 percent of the college's graduates get jobs within six months and earn an average wage of $30,000. Health fields and computer sciences are the most popular.
"It's good value for the dollar, and I think kids are seeing that," he said. "Health fields are really hot right now."
Rafn, however, said applicants might have problems getting into health fields if they haven't applied. For the rest of NWTC programs, "students should be applying now if they want to start in the fall," he said.
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