I’m not going to publicly admit how many times I have watched the final 30 seconds of this week’s championship from the clutch throw by UNC with 4.7 seconds left to the buzzer beater by Villanova. I do not have a problem!
But I am a bit surprised talking with my S and his buddies on how many of them are now “looking into Villanova.” My kid couldn’t have even plotted Philadelphia on a map before and now he’s talking about “maybe we should take the train over there to see it.”
It’d be interesting to see if their yield increases this year when all is said and done.
Villanova has been rising anyway. 20 years ago Haverford and Bryn Mawr students made fun of it. They don’t anymore. Villanova is more selective than Bryn Mawr and receives well over 15,000 applications a year. The business and nursing programs are considered in elite categories.
Gonzaga experienced huge growth with the ascendance of its basketball program. Gonzaga grew dramatically.
St. Bonaventure was screwed out of the tournament but received national attention all year and experienced a 30% increase in applications this year. Both the boys and girls programs had amazing years.
Sports matter a lot. Villanova will see a huge increase. They were ranked #1 or close to that all season.
Yes, it’s a bump. Alabama always receives a bunch more apps the night of or the days after it wins the National Championship. Kids see the hype, the fun, the rah rah…and if that’s part of how they see college life, then…
I once had a Hollywood producer contact me after a championship win because their child had just submitted an application. I answered a bunch of questions, they called back several times (even while filimng on location in Europe! lol) and again during Bama Bound orientation. Their child went to Bama, majored in film (wouldnt ya know!) and graduated last May.
I’m not sure how much the school needed it’s fortune changed. It has excellent programs in business, engineering, nursing and political science. Villanova has a strong alumni network and is well-respected in the Mid-Atlantic, especially in its backyard – SE Pa.
They have also granted enough doctorates in recent years to be re-classified by the Carnegie Foundation. So Nova will be a national U in USNWR next year. Assuming a spot in the 40s or so, that will boost applications and image as much as Kris Jenkins.
I don’t know about one game, but having very successful high profile sports over a long period of time definitely helped schools like Duke and Georgetown move up in the national consciousness. 30 years ago, Duke and Georgetown were good schools with a primarily regional pull. Because of Coach K and John Thompson and some national titles, the nation’s high schools students’ awareness and interest in both schools shot up, their applications skyrocketed, they became more selective, and now they are perceived as elite national universities. Notre Dame is the archetype for what high profile athletics can do for your admissions standards.
Meanwhile, dropping out of the Big 10 killed the entire nation’s awareness of the University of Chicago for nearly a century. U of C has to send out tons of mailings just to let high schoolers know that they even exist.
