Drexel University Letter

sybbie719
Mon, 05 Sep 2011 09:25:35 +0000

Article on Drexel VIP Application





Joan McDonald, senior vice president for enrollment management at Drexel U., believes applying to college should be easier. Drexel’s enrollment-management office has grown into a large, clockwork division that runs an aggressive recruitment campaign. Its centerpiece is the Drexel VIP Application,
**which the university sends not to a select number of very important students, but to each and every one in its vast inquiry pool. **

Drexel’s applications. In 2006 the university received nearly 19,000 freshman applications; last year it received more than 31,000. She attributes much of that increase to the VIP application, which Drexel started using three years ago.

“Application demand is fuel for a university,” Ms. McDonald says. “The more you have, the more you can shape the size, the quality, and the amount of institutional aid you can spend.”

**Each year, the university buys the names of hundreds of thousands of high-school students who have scored within a particular range on standardized tests (between 1000-1400 on the SAT, for instance). **

Ms. McDonald sends each of those students an introductory letter asking if they would like to learn more about Drexel. The names of those who say yes go into the university’s inquiry pool, which also includes students who first contact Drexel. All of them receive follow-up communications from the university.

“Apply today,” reads the first page, which lists three advantages of doing so: expedited consideration for scholarships; a waiver for the $75 application fee, which the university waives anyway for online applications; and “no long essay,” as Drexel requires only a brief personal statement. Students are urged to return the application (or apply online) by December 1, three months before the university’s stated March 1 deadline. Drexel then follows up, urging each applicant to send the rest of the required materials, transcripts, test scores, recommendation letters, and the personal statement. The admissions office then reviews completed applications.

Last year Drexel sent VIP applications to 175,000 students and received about 31,000 filled out. The university offered admission to about 68 percent of the applicants and enrolled a class of about 2,400.

http://www.sageridge.org/studentlife/documents/CollegesOfferApplicantsNewWaystoGetanEarlyAnswer.pdf



If the school is on your radar, definitely fill out an application. It won’t cost you anything and it will take the pressure off in knowing that you will have some place to go. However do this with your eyes wide open.

Being eligible for a 40k scholarship, does not guarantee that you will get a 40k scholarship.

Drexel is a school that does not meet 100% demonstrated need. The scholarships that they do offer are reserved for the tippy top of the applicant pool.

[Undergraduate Grants and Scholarships | Student Resource Center/Financial Aid | Drexel University](Grants and Scholarships | Drexel Central)