Release date: July 26, 2004
Contact: Deb Hammacher, Associate Director, University Media Relations,
at 404-727-0644 or dhammac@emory.edu

College Applications Up at Emory and Elsewhere

Emory College, the undergraduate division of Emory University, received a record number of applications for the second year in a row. There were 11,216 applicants for the 1,240-member class of 2008--an 8 percent increase from last year and 14 percent in the last two years, says Dean of Admission Daniel Walls.

Walls attributes the increase to several factors in addition to broader and earlier recruiting. "Our recruiting efforts are paying off, but this is a national trend as well," says Walls. "There are more high school seniors this year, and they are completing more applications. Several of our peers also had record years. I think the multiple applications are because of the competition among so many high school seniors trying to get in, and also families shopping for the best financial or merit aid possible."

Applications to Emory from the Southeast and the West continue to climb steadily, and there was a record number of applicants from Georgia. Enrollment from those areas will be 38 percent, 8.5 percent and 17 percent, respectively. After the Southeast, the Middle Atlantic region will have 20 percent and the Midwest 13 percent of the class.

Early decision applications returned to the fall 2002 level after a one-year dip. Prior to last year's decline there had been several years of steady increase in the number of students applying early.

International applications to Emory also continue to grow--about 50 percent over the past five years--with another 7-8 percent increase this year. International enrollment is at 6 percent for the fall. This is a rebound after a one-year dip to about 4 percent attributed to more difficult visa procedures for students implemented nationally last year. Last year, applications rose, but it was difficult for students to get to the United States. This year applications and enrollment are up.

Students from Asian countries have increased dramatically at Emory, with Korea sending the bulk at nearly half of the international enrollment. According to Scott Allen, who heads international recruiting for the university, the rebounding economies in Asia help with applications, but that reputation and word-of-mouth play large roles. Emory has a long history of ties to Korea, so "100 years of exchanges makes a difference," says Allen.

The work of The Carter Center, which is part of the university, has had a definite impact on Emory's awareness and reputation in the world, particularly the Americas, according to Allen. He will lead a tour of admissions officers from 30 universities to Central and South America this fall. Allen says the number of Atlanta companies doing business in the Americas also has helped raise the university's profile in that region.

At the graduate and professional school level, Emory appears to be bucking a national trend of sharp declines in international applications for this fall. While the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences saw a 36 percent decrease from last year's total, the decline was specific to students from China: Applicants from that country accounted for 97 percent of the drop. Goizueta Business School actually saw a slight increase in international applications. The business school--where international students have accounted for half of all applicants the past three years--also experienced a decline in applications from China, but not enough to affect the overall number.

"Overall, we have not seen any general reduction in international applications across the board as other universities seem to have experienced," says Richard Rubinson, interim associate dean of the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences.

Back