The University of Wisconsin welcomed the third-largest entering class in history this year, despite talks about the possible negative effects of a still unknown state budget and increased tuition.
Nearly 25,000 people applied to attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison this fall, the largest application pool in the university’s history.
Slightly more than half were admitted, and 6,000 freshmen enrolled. That’s the third largest entering class in recent school history, according to university officials.
UW-Madison Admissions Director Rob Seltzer said increased competition, not higher standards, have made admission more difficult.
“People think we’re trying to become more elitist. That ‘s not true at all,” Seltzer said. “It’s simply if we want a certain size freshman class, we have to admit a smaller proportion of a larger applicant pool.”
Associate Director of Admissions Tom Reason said it is hard to say exactly why more people are applying, but he believes it has a lot to do with the growing reputation of the university. Reason also attributes the increasing number of applicants to the continued success of students, high graduation rates and the positive way prospective students view the university.
“There is a growing understanding of the type of institution we have in Madison,” Reason said. “People are not only attracted to student activities such as athletics and different clubs, but also the prominence of other academic opportunities, like stem cell research.”
With an over-enrollment of 350 students this year, Reason said the admissions department needs to be extremely careful with the number of admitted students in the future to make sure student resources adequately align with those numbers.
UW-Madison’s freshman class has stayed between 5,500 and 6,100 students in the past decade. But the number of applications has grown from about 16,300 in 1997 to 25,000 for this year’s freshman class.
About 14 percent of students are minorities, a portion that has been fairly consistent from year to year, Seltzer said.
More students are female than male — 53.5 percent to 46.5 percent.
The number of international students has rebounded from 109 in the 2002 freshman class — the first to enter after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks — to 292 this fall.
“We’re beginning to see some natural increase in interest, although there is also increased competition now,” Seltzer said. “Australian and British schools really stepped in when America was strongly pushing international students away in the first couple years after 9/11. Lots of other countries advanced their recruiting efforts at our expense. ”
Historically, Reason said, admissions have looked for students with an A average. Most of the students admitted have an average ACT score of 28 and a 3.7 grade point average based on a straight 4.0 scale, according to Reason.
“The numbers matter the most — this has always been true,” Reason said. “We also look mostly for solid, rigorous coursework and that the student has taken advantage of those courses and has been able to achieve.”
Test scores, personal experiences and class rankings are additional components the admissions department considers in every application. However, Reason said none of these components are dealmakers or breakers for accepting a prospective student.
— The Associated Press contributed to this report.
