Wooster’s office of admission cuts back on admitted students to accommodate for an influx of applicants
Anya Cohen
News Editor
This week, the College of Wooster welcomed its most selectively admitted class yet. With the class of 2016 boasting an applicant pool of 5,207, the school received nearly double the 2,392 applications received ten years ago.
To accommodate for the influx of applications, the admissions office has needed to be more conservative in the number of students that they admit. “This was the most selective year in the history of the college,” said Vice President for Enrollment and College Relations, Scott Friedhoff. “We admitted just over half of the students that applied. That’s a record for the college.” For the class of 2016, 58% of the applicants were admitted, which is a 28% decrease since 2006 when 86% were admitted.
The past few years are considered a great success for the college in terms of its class sizes. “Our goal has been around 570,” said Dean for Curriculum and Academic Engagement, Henry Kreuzman. The class of 2016 hits the mark with exactly 570 students enrolled. The class of 2015 was also spot on with an enrollment of 571. “Two years being only one student apart is pretty amazing. That’s like throwing a party to 5000 people and being able to hit [the goal] exactly with how many people show up,” said Kreuzman. “That’s hard to predict.”
Due to the increased selectivity, understanding why the applicant is interested in Wooster has become a vital component of a student’s application. “I really think that we are looking for students who understand Wooster,” said Dean of Admissions, Jennifer Winge. “The ways that we discover how well the student understands the rigor here, as well as the personality of the place, has become maybe more important than in years past.”