The potential future students of Syracuse University have some heavy competition in their application process this year, with approximately seven times the amount of applicants than reserved spaces for students.

‘As recently as five years ago, we received in the neighborhood of 14,000 applications. Thus far this year, we have received over 21,000 applications for a first year class of just over 3,000 students,’ said Nancy Rothschild, the assistant dean of admissions, in an e-mail Wednesday. ‘We expect that we’ll close between 8 to 10 percent ahead of last year.’

With the largest high-school class in the nation’s history graduating in the spring of 2008, many competitive universities’ application records have been shattered, according to an article in The New York Times.

The class of 2012 is composed of nearly 3.3 million current high-school seniors.

The boost in the number of applicants will result in an increased amount of rejection letters sent out by SU. The SU Admissions Department does not intend to increase SU’s undergraduate enrollment regardless of the large influx of applicants.

While there is an increase in overall applicants to SU, there is no one college that is getting more applicants than the others. The geographic and gender breakdown is not significantly different from last year, Rothschild said.

Syracuse has begun to alter its qualifications for applicants due to the large quantity of candidates and the small amount of available spots.

‘We, the admissions department, have evolved from primarily considering a student’s ability to be successful here to selecting a class that has strong academic credentials as well as diverse backgrounds, interests, experiences and special talents that will contribute to the life of our community,’ Rothschild said.

SU is one of the many colleges that accepts the Common Application, a general application form used by more than 150 independent colleges, in addition to a required supplement.

According to Newsweek, the rise in applicants may be a result of the Common Application, which allows students to submit the same application to numerous, affiliated universities, decreasing the amount of time invested in filling out forms.

The time saved by potential students is then shifted into the hands of the SU’s admissions department.

‘It is easier to apply to more schools with electronic common applications, and many colleges make it easier for students to apply by simplifying what’s required,’ Rothschild said.

The Common Application Web site has seen a 38 percent increase since last year’s application process, according to its Web site.

When speaking to freshmen on campus, the reasons for enrolling in Syracuse’s class of 2011 ranged from scholarship advantages, academic programs and major possibilities to athletic and social opportunities.

‘With the pressures on kids to get accepted into competitive schools these days, it’s easy to overlook how valuable large universities like Syracuse are. I like the fact that this university is what I make of it, and that it grants the freedom to choose that can only be offered by large, private institutions,’ said Charlie Hartfelder, a freshman political science and anthropology major.

Rothschild said SU has much to offer students, which is why the increase of applicants is not surprising.

‘There are so many creative new initiatives, interdisciplinary programs and facilities. There is great energy on campus. These factors are very attractive to prospective students,’ she said.

Published on January 23, 2008 at 12:00 pm