Wesleyan’s Admissions Numbers Defy Economy

A piece in The New York Times discusses how applications for the Class of 2013 remained strong at the nation’s most competitive colleges, despite the economy’s recent economic recession. Mentioned in the article was Wesleyan which, unlike several liberal arts colleges, saw an increase in applications this year. In fact, Wesleyan’s dramatic increase set a record: 10,065 applications, which is up 22% over last year’s admissions cycle (which was also a record). The Times had previously written about Wesleyan’s increase in applications during the November early decision application period, which was also up a record 40% over the previous year. President Michael Roth has also written a piece for The Huffington Post on the economy’s impact on the Class of 2013 both nationally and here at Wesleyan.

This year, Wesleyan has gone to a web-based notification system for admissions. In addition to the traditional notification letters, mailed March 26, applicants received an e-mail from the university with a link to a website. The online site was created in part to give admitted students rapid access to their admissions status, and to provide them with more time to schedule a visit to the University in April.

Once at the online site, applicants were able to log in to see their admission status. The long-awaited online letters  went “live” on the afternoon of Friday, March 27. The response was brisk. Within the first two hours, the site received more than 3,000 visitors. During one point the rate was over 250  visitors per minute and more than 5,600 unique log-ins the first weekend. In addition, as of Monday, March 30, 521 accepted students had joined Wesleyan’s frosh Facebook group.

Approximately 22 % of this year’s applicants have been admitted to Wesleyan, including some 350 students who were admitted during the early  decision period. The class of 2013 is expected to comprise approximately 745  students.