Class of 2016 has record yield; a few off the waitlist for Medill

Sam_Lee · May 11, 2012, 11:57am

[Class</a> of 2016 has record yield - Campus - The Daily Northwestern - Northwestern University](<a href=“http://www.dailynorthwestern.com/campus/class-of-2016-has-record-yield-1.2739814#.T60fMZ9YvHw]Class”>http://www.dailynorthwestern.com/campus/class-of-2016-has-record-yield-1.2739814#.T60fMZ9YvHw)

The class of 2016 has broken records again, this time with an impressive yield for Northwestern.

Of the 4,895 admitted students, 43 percent are choosing to enroll this fall.

The 2,086 students who committed to NU are expected to include higher numbers of minority, transfer and international students than in previous years, said Michael Mills, the associate provost for university enrollment.

This is the second year in a row in which NU has seen a 5 percent increase in yield. The class of 2015 had 38 percent of admitted students enroll, and the class of 2014 had 33 percent. Mills said such a large increase is rare.

I havent seen very many instances of back-to-back years with a 5 percentage point increase in yield, he said. Thats more or less a once-in-a-career observation, and it happened again this year.

Mills said NU will take about half a dozen students off the waitlist for Medill because its yield was lower than expected, but no one from the waitlist will be taken from any other school. Last year, no students were taken from NUs waitlist, he said.

In addition, **international student enrollment increased from 6.7 to 7.2 percent last year. African Americans will make up 7.8 percent of the class, a rise from the 7.2 percent for the class of 2015.

The number of Latino students decreased from 9.1 percent last year to 8.6 percent for the incoming class. The number of low-income students who enrolled decreased as well, from 14 percent last year to 13 percent this year.**

NU also had more minority applicants this year, Mills said. Classes often lose students over the summer, which Mills said he thinks will increase the incoming classs diversity percentages. Last year, the class of 2015 lost about 70 students, and Mills said he believes this years decrease will be similar.

Its slightly more diverse than last years, Mills said. Thats another aspect of the freshman class that we are thrilled with.

For the past two years, the Office of Undergraduate Admissions has cut the number of admitted students by 800 with the goal of having 2,025 students enroll.

Previous classes were larger, which placed a stress on residence halls and caused individual schools to add class sections and hire more faculty. This year, the class size is smaller, dropping from 2,107 last year to 2,086. Mills said NU plans to take 30 more transfer students than last year.

Overall, he said the incoming class had higher levels of academic rigor in high school, as indicated by grade point averages, test scores, class ranks and Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams.

Mills said the yield was especially abnormal because though NU accepts higher achieving students, these students receive competing offers from other top-tier schools, placing NUs yield in jeopardy. Mills said students who have committed to NU may still end up attending other schools if they get off of other schools waitlists.

Factors that have contributed to the increasing matriculation at NU include the breadth of social and academic opportunities at NU and the strong groups that host prospective students, plan the Wildcat Days and give tours, Mills said.

Communication sophomore Daniel Flores is a tour guide and said he was excited about the increase in yield. He said

Caitlin Smith, assistant director of admissions and tour guide supervisor, told the guides that they were getting positive feedback about their tours on comment cards, and some prospective students even mention specific tour guides in their application essays.

They really love their tour. They can remember their tour guide vividly, he said. They just enjoyed the tour that much and it just made them want to come to Northwestern that much more.

The Office of Undergraduate Admissions also hosts Wildcat Days for admitted students to visit campus. Spencer

Gellman, a member of the class of 2016, came to Evanston from New Jersey to see NU and said his experience at Wildcat Days factored into his decision to attend NU.

I decided to go to Northwestern because I was in love with the facilities there, the wonderful campus and the strong academic reputation, Gellman said. I was definitely impressed by the engineering program. Its extremely strong at Northwestern.

Flores said he was glad that NU students got to play a role in recruiting future students.

We are there to showcase and show how great it is, he said. Its not just the school. Were trying to put our part in and resonate with a lot of students that are coming to visit.

Sam_Lee · May 11, 2012, 12:50pm

Despite what he said, there’s really no over-enrollment after factoring the “summer melt”. Somehow the record yield was within their model’s estimate.

Ahp1994 · May 11, 2012, 1:13pm

With the increased focus on ED, this looks like the intended result. My guess is that NU will aim for 45% to 50% ED so that it will mirror other highly selective institutions (e.g. Penn). This will take several more years to execute because NU needs to signal to high quality applicants to apply early and that it is no longer a reliable ivy back-up. With 45% ED, NU will be in the 50% yield range.

babygoindown · May 15, 2012, 12:17am

when they say no student will be taken off the waitlist from schools other than Medill, does that mean literally no one will get in off the waitlist?? not even if students who committed get in other waitlists and choose to go?? what is the chance…
I am really concerned cuz I was waitlisted and really really want to get off the list.

arbiter213 · May 15, 2012, 7:23am

suppasonic · May 15, 2012, 2:21pm

just to take after Arby, I wouldn’t call it “resigning yourself”. While many of us here love NU, I’m sure many of you still got in to many fantastic schools that you will be happy with, if not love. I know many people from HS who had dream schools they were crushed not to get into, and now, 4 years later, had a superb college experience and can only glow about their alma mater.

pcaz · May 15, 2012, 6:26pm

My son was accepted off the waitlist today for the School of Communication. Not sure if he’ll attend or not, but go Wildcats!

babygoindown · May 15, 2012, 7:45pm

does that mean that NU is actually taking people off the list from schools other than medill （the article says NU is not taking anyone other than medill, and I believe school of communication is not medill???）??

CentralFC · May 15, 2012, 8:45pm

You just answered your own question. Unless you were intending on enrolling in Medill, you weren’t taken off of the wait list.

babygoindown · May 15, 2012, 9:09pm

CentralFC but see the post above me from pcaz, his son got off the list from the school of communication, which is not medill.

CentralFC · May 15, 2012, 9:36pm

[Medill</a> - Northwestern University](<a href=“http://www.medill.northwestern.edu/]Medill”>http://www.medill.northwestern.edu/)

Same thing.

babygoindown · May 15, 2012, 9:40pm

u mean medill and school of communication is the same thing?? i don’t think so…

[Schools:&#32</a>; Office of Undergraduate Admission - Northwestern University](<a href="http://ugadm.northwestern.edu/academics/schools/index.html]Schools: ">http://ugadm.northwestern.edu/academics/schools/index.html)

I do understand that there is slim chance still

CentralFC · May 15, 2012, 10:01pm

It’s a component of Medill.

babygoindown · May 15, 2012, 10:02pm

alright then, but it seems weird that they put the school of communication and medill school of journalism under the same category.

CentralFC · May 15, 2012, 10:14pm

Well that’s how it must work logically according to the article.

babygoindown · May 15, 2012, 10:20pm

but after double checking, I really think school of communication and medill are two separate schools under NU. anyways, I posted cuz it gives me a slim hope since i applied to school of engineering and applied science. the article can be wrong sometimes who knows, who cares.

PieceofToast · May 16, 2012, 9:37am

They are separate colleges at NU.

babygoindown · May 16, 2012, 10:15am

therefore according to the post in which the poster’s son got off the wait list from NU does suggest that NU is taking people off the list from schools other than just Medill, which is what the article says.

arbiter213 · May 16, 2012, 11:46am

^You are correct, the School of Communication is definitely completely separate from Medill. So either the post here is inaccurate or the article was.

pcaz · May 16, 2012, 7:18pm

I’m a “she” by the way, and my post is definitely accurate. I’ve been posting on CC on and off for years and I would never mislead anyone. My son has been given a couple of days to make his decision.

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by the financial aid, which is comparable to the school he initially decided to attend (a top 20 LAC).

And the School of Communication has no association with Medill as far as I know other than they’re both separate schools at Northwestern.

Class of 2016 has record yield; a few off the waitlist for Medill

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