PULLMAN, Wash. — Washington State University officials report there are more than six freshmen vying for each remaining spot in the fall freshman class.
During the next few weeks WSU admission officials will be deciding who from a pool of 2400 applicants will be offered one of 400 remaining spots in the freshman class.
“We are no longer encouraging new applications from freshmen,” said Jim Rimpau, enrollment management director. “Any further applicants will be considered — only with faculty support — on the basis of extraordinary credentials.”
Wendy Peterson, director of the Office of Admissions, said WSU’s freshman class is expected to total 2,825.
“Unfortunately, we will have to turn away many qualified students. However, we cannot admit too many students and still maintain the quality education our students should expect,” Peterson said.
Rimpau said the limiting factor on enrollment is state funding. “Above a certain level of enrollment, we will interfere with quality. We are committed to maintaining the quality education our students deserve.
“Students should be able to get the classes they need in a timely manner and not have to extend the number of years to graduation, as is happening in other states,” he said. “The university, too, is trying to keep its class size as small as possible.”
The fall freshman total would increase the university’s enrollment to about 500 more than is supported by the state budget. The incoming freshmen class would be about 200 more than last fall’s.
To date, there is a 45 percent increased in the number of in-state students with a 3.6 grade point average who have confirmed their enrollment for the fall. The out-of-state freshman scholars are up some 51 percent.
Officials also are pleased with a significant increase in the number of students of color who are planning to attend WSU. The number of multicultural students who have confirmed their enrollment for the fall is up more than 25 percent from 2001.
The university’s new Regents Scholars award program has provided more than $3 million in scholarship awards for Washington high-achieving high school seniors who choose WSU. To date, 18 of the 25 students who were offered a four-year, full scholarships to the university have accepted the major award worth more than $14,000 each year.
In addition, the university awarded a significant number of University Achievement Awards to early applicants whose GPAs were 3.6 or higher.
University officials expect that more than $125 million in scholarships and financial aid will be granted to more than 14,000 WSU students for the 2002-03 school year.
“The university commitment to academic quality has been our focus,” Peterson said. “We believe that these outstanding students are attracted to WSU because of its reputation as a place where they will receive a world-class, undergraduate education experience working along side outstanding faculty.”
