With an increase of over 45 percent in the number of applications received this year in comparison to last, Quinnipiac is the place to be among incoming freshmen. As of mid-January, over 9,000 undergraduate applications have been processed in the office of undergraduate admissions.

“Applications to each of the schools have increased substantially,” Joan Isaac Mohr, Vice President and Dean of Admissions at Quinnipiac said.

The School of Communications has received an increase of 42 percent the College of Liberal Arts has received an increase of 59 percent, the School of Health Sciences saw its applicants rise by 50 percent and the School of Business a whopping 74 percent.

With the surge in applications, the competition has become more difficult as the size of the freshmen class will not exceed last year’s numbers.

Mohr said that the goal for the Class of 2008, like that of 2007 will be 1300 freshmen and 150 transfers.

“We are a hot college,” Mohr said.”We do a lot to make students aware of us.”

Quinnipiac “makes students aware” of the campus through hosting on campus visits, open houses, information sessions and high school visits.

“There are more high school seniors this year than last year,” the Dean of Admissions said.

However, most other schools did not see the same rise as Quinnipiac.

Most other schools, according to Mohr, are a mere 10 percent over last year.

She explains this through the fact that high school seniors know that there are more of them and so are applying earlier than in previous years and “are perhaps casting their nets even further by applying to a few more colleges than they might have in previous years,” Mohr said.

With already in excess of 9,000 applications processed, Quinnipiac is well on its way of surpassing the total number of applications received for the Class of 2007, which totaled 9,400; 8,800 of which were freshmen applicants.

“We encouraged students to apply earlier,” Mohr said, “It has become apparent that we fill our spaces early.”

She said the University admits “a little over 5,000 of the applicants” to get the desired 1300 freshmen.

The number of admitted students may seem rather high but after considering the fact that only 26 percent of admitted students actually chose to attend Quinnipiac, it makes more sense.

The 26 percent yield is “not untypical among other colleges and universities.”

May 1 will be the date accepted students must notify Quinnipiac of their decision whether or not to enroll here.

She said with so many applicants, Quinnipiac can be “much more selective” in the students admitted also creating “a substantial waitlist.”

Currently, approximately 4,000 students have been admitted filling most of the spots for the Class of 2008.

To many students, the process of making a decision concerning who is admitted and who is not is a mystery. The mystery has been solved. The decision process for an incoming student is three-fold. One, the high school transcript is evaluated. Grades are examined; courses and course difficulty are also scrutinized.

The general grade pattern throughout high school and in specific subjects (like Math and English) also weighs in during the review process.

The student’s performance on standardized testing; with the highest scores of the verbal and mathematics sections of the SATs taken into consideration is the second point that is considered.

The third piece of criteria taken into account depends on particular programs like Physical Therapy, Athletic Training, Occupational Therapy, Nursing, Athletic Training, Physician’s Assistant, etc. For the aforementioned programs, four years of math and four years of science are required.

“We also review everything else that a student sends – lists of their activities, leadership roles, their essay and their guidance counselors’ or teacher recommendations,” said Mohr.

Mohr believes that the most common misconception among Quinnipiac students regarding her office is that “people may not appreciate how competitive we are becoming.”

With the average SAT score for the Class of 2008 rising to an unprecedented 1138, an increase of 20 points over last year’s applicants. The average student comes from the top 22 percent of his or her high school class, an increase of three percent over last year.

Adding to Quinnipiac’s surge in popularity is likely to be attributed to the US News and World Report’s ranking of Quinnipiac. In the category of Best Northern Universities that offer Masters, Quinnipiac is ranked number 12. The ranking considers among other things, the retention rate of students.

Of the students who entered Quinnipiac in 2002, 86 percent of the students came back this academic school year.

The average graduation rate of incoming freshmen who graduate within six years is an average of 70 percent.

Mohr said that most of the students get into their program of choice and in all but one case students can move into other areas, with the exception being Physical Therapy.

On behalf of the entire admissions staff Mohr said they are ever so grateful for our student workers and volunteers for giving prospective students tours, hosting them, showing them around at open houses, talking to their high schools about how great Quinnipiac is as well as all of the work that they do.