Ohio University’s streak of receiving a record number of applications for first-year freshmen could be coming to an end, but university officials say they aren’t too concerned.
As of Jan. 9, OU had received 16,855 applications for first-year freshmen for the 2014-15 academic year. This time last year, OU had received 160 more applications for the current academic year, said Craig Cornell, vice provost for enrollment management.
“I’m not worried about being less than one percent down,” Cornell said. “This is a nice point to be at, at this point in time.”
The deadline to apply “priority” to OU is Feb. 1.
Though the overall number of applications is slightly down, the number of students that have been admitted is up .5 percent from the 2012-13 academic year to 10,226 students, Cornell said.
Applicants’ test scores have also gone up a tick, with the average ACT score increasing to 24.1 compared to the average 23.9 at the same point last year. The average SAT score at this point last year was 1084.1 and has increased to an average score of 1084.7.
The average high school grade point average is also essentially the same as this point last year. The applicants have an average GPA of a 3.40, compared to last year’s 3.39 average, Cornell said.
“We’re also seeing continued growth in the number of countries students are applying from,” Cornell said.
OU seems on par with other universities in the state for the number of applications received for the 2014-15 academic year.
Bowling Green State University had received 11,700 applications as of Jan. 10 for first year students for the 2014-15 academic year. By the time Bowling Green closed admissions, it received 15,689 applications for the current academic year.
As of Jan. 5, Kent State University had received 17,118 applications for the next academic year. Kent State received 21,666 applications for the 2013-14 academic year.
Miami University has already received 20,881 for next year. For the current year, Miami received a total 22,520.
“We’re just up to date; we don’t know where those final numbers will land come the first of February, but we’re certainly pleased with the trajectory at this time,” said Ann Larson, director of admissions at Miami University.
For the last three years, OU has seen an increase in the amount of applications it received for first-year students.
“We’re coming off a pretty significant growth in the last couple of years,” Cornell said.
For the 2010-11 academic year, OU hit a low of 13,366 applications. The number went up slightly for the 2011-12 academic year, with 13,392 applications. The number of applications jumped to 17,482 applications last year.
The amount was a record for OU at the time; however the record didn’t last long. It was broken this academic year when OU received 20,770 applications, according to records from OU.
The large quantity of applications led to a larger-than-normal freshman OU class and admitted 4,249 students for the 2013-14 academic year — the largest in the university’s history, according to preliminary data.
“All of us who are here realize what a special place this is and we’re happy others do too,” Ryan Lombardi, vice president for Student Affairs, said.
The number of applications might not break another record, but Cornell said he is happy about the high number of applications.
“We’re excited about seeing this high of numbers again,” Cornell said. “We’re feeling good about how things are shaping up.”
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