AU just announced an all-time high for first year applications for Fall 2025.
They didn’t provide a specific number, but said apps were up 20% from last cycle in Fall 2024 (data is not public yet). The last reported cycle was Fall 2023 admits, which had 17,786. I’d wager that the final number for Fall 2025 is 22k+ applications.
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I suspect that they added EA to drive up applications and they succeeded.
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The yield will be interesting given they under enrolled last year. Perhaps their incentive spend, ie merit, will be higher.
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Merit aid being higher specifically for this year seems unlikely, as AU’s communicated multiple times throughout the past couple of years that their focus is on increasing need-based aid.
Perhaps but they have to figure out how to get more butts in seat.
Giving more need - they could lose to other more generous.
Often times second tier businesses have to buy their way out of issues so to give more need, their formulas need to change. Or perhaps they go both.
Time will tell I suppose.
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The money for increased need-based aid came from the Change Can’t Wait campaign and other private donations. That money is specifically allocated for need-based aid, and can’t be shuffled around to increase merit aid. Essentially they have the same pot of money as previous years to pull from for merit aid, but a larger pot for need-based. But money can’t be shifted from one pot to the other.
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