The Collegian

Issue date: 4/10/08 Section: News

The Hillsdale College admissions office is predicting another record of more selective admission rates and increasing test scores for this fall's incoming class, Director of Admissions Jeff Lantis said last week.

"The continual goal in admission is to attain our application goal each year so that we can become more selective and attain a better class each year," Lantis said. "In anticipation of a good recruiting year, we were a little more selective up front."

This trend is consistent with Ivy League colleges and top-ranked universities across the nation that reported record low acceptance rates this spring, according to an April 1 New York Times report.

Hillsdale's 2006 and 2007 acceptance rates were 75 percent and 64 percent, respectively, Lantis said.

Academic standards have "inched forward" in recent years, and last year was the first time the average ACT score pushed above a 27.5, Lantis said. The average high school GPA for last year's freshman class was 3.7.

Numbers for this year's incoming class won't be available until after the May 1 deadline for all accepted students to indicate if they plan to attend Hillsdale, Lantis said.

He hopes to welcome 370 new students to campus next fall, he said.

But numbers aside, academic qualifications are only part of what the admissions office is looking for in potential students. They also need to be intellectually curious and display meaningful involvement in their communities, Assistant Director of Admissions Andrea Yeutter '06 said.

"They need to be bright," she said. "One way to see that is by their GPA and test scores, but that's not a total judge of their abilities. So that's why we try to get them to come in for interviews, and pay attention to their [admissions] essays."

Admissions Counselor Lauren Clark '07 said she looks for "normalcy" when she interviews potential students.

"They just have to have social adaptability," she said. "They have to be well-adjusted, ready for college, mature."

Clark measures an applicant's preparedness by his responses to her questions and by his general disposition during the interview, she said.

Within the next two or three years the admissions office hopes to have an administrative network capable of supporting a required personal interview for every applicant, Yeutter said. The network will be a combination of admissions office regional recruiters and Hillsdale alumni, parents and friends who will interview prospective students in every region of the country.

Regional interviews will be part of the Hillsdale College Admissions Assistance Program, directed by Ben Korom '06, Yeutter said.

Lantis said students who study too much are not the kind he wants to bring to Hillsdale.

"We want outstanding, well-rounded individuals," he said. "Now, there are academically qualified students who don't get admitted to Hillsdale, and that's a good thing. We're looking for a good institutional fit."

Admissions staff measures potential institutional fit by examining a student's social interests, extracurricular activities, community involvement and the other schools to which they have applied, Lantis said.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools