PULLMAN, Wash. — Washington State University has stopped accepting applications from incoming freshman to its Pullman campus for the fall 2004 semester, having received more applications than last year for a class that is expected to be slightly smaller than last year’s.
Janet Danley, interim executive director of enrollment services, said WSU has received about 500 more applications from prospective first-time freshmen than last year, about 9,600 overall. The university plans to admit a class of about 2,950 first-time freshmen this fall, compared to last year’s freshman class of 3,032.
In the wake of last year’s large class, university administrators made the decision to limit enrollments this year to align enrollment numbers more closely with per-student funding provided by the state.
“We have been very pleased by both the number and the quality of applications that we have received. Every incoming class represents the culmination of several years of effort, and the applications that have come in are certainly evidence that more and more outstanding students are well aware of the quality of education available here at WSU,” Danley said.
Applications from high-achieving students – students with 3.6 grade point average or higher in high school – are up. The number of confirmed admissions of these students is up slightly over last year’s class, which was the best-qualified incoming class in WSU’s history. In last year’s class, 38.8 percent of incoming freshmen had high school grade point averages of 3.6 or above.
Danley said the university still has some spaces available for transfer students. She encouraged qualified transfer students to complete the application process quickly to secure a place in this fall’s class.
Meanwhile, applications for spring 2005 are available. Space will be very limited so students who anticipate applying for admission to spring 2005 should submit their materials as soon as possible, Danley said.
