Freshman deposits for 2007–08 year reached 838 on April 20, according to Carl Sgrecci, vice president of finance and administration.
Ithaca College received 12,504 total applications, a 1.3 percent increase from last year’s 12,339 applications, according to Larry Metzger, dean of enrollment planning. Acceptance offers were given to 8,337 students, nearly 67 percent of the total applicants.
Metzger said the college hopes to enroll 1,632 of these students, but he would not know how many students made a commitment until Tuesday’s deadline. He declined to release deposit totals by press time.
The college received 561 transfer applications this year, down 21 percent from last year’s 713 applications. Metzger said the planned enrollment for transfers is 150.
For the 2007–08 academic year, the School of Humanities and Sciences received 6,132 applications, nearly half of the total. Totals for the remaining five schools were 2,110 for the Roy H. Park School of Communications; 1,685 for the School of Health Sciences and Human Performance; 1,597 for the School of Business; 819 for the School of Music and 161 for the Division of Interdisciplinary and International Studies, according to Sgrecci.
The college also plans to stop offering early decision next fall. Gerard Turbide, director of admissions, said the college typically receives a smaller number of early decision applicants but a large number of regular decision applicants who sometimes apply as early as September. Turbide declined to release the number of students who applied for early decision this year or last year.
“Getting rid of early decision basically enables us to work with more students earlier, to get that process moving and so more students will have a decision sooner,” Turbide said.
The cost of the enrollment deposit was also raised this year from $250 to $400.
After they enroll, students in the class of 2011 will be the first to choose first-year housing via HomerConnect, said Jen Richardson, assistant director of housing services and communication for the Office of Residential Life.
Traditionally, first-year students are assigned housing based on the order students submit their deposits and their preferences. Now, students will be assigned random lottery numbers and choose housing in waves. Richardson said the new system will give freshmen more freedom.
“They [Office of Residential Life] wanted to give the incoming freshmen the same opportunity as our returning students,” Richardson said. “To be able to select new housing online and give them the ability to make the decision regarding what’s most important to them around roommate options as well as building and room choices.”
Metzger said the college also has devised several new strategies to attract prospective students. One of these strategies is Fuse magazine, a magazine produced by students for high school students interested in the college.
Turbide said Fuse is more current and interesting for students than the school catalogs and it also reaches out to younger prospective students. The magazine is produced about four times a year, Metzger said, and makes the college experience more real for prospective students.
“The actual experiences that students are having on campus and having them write about it in their own voice makes it much more real for prospective students,” Metzger said.
Metzger said demographic information for the class of 2011 will be released in the fall.
