Wow, saw Wright State was down 25% last year and are down another 10% from that this year. Despite giving $10,000 scholarships to student with ACT's in the low 20's.
Yeah...the fact that UC continues to see enrollment growth like this when most contemporaries are dealing with the opposite is a testament to academic leadership and the way the brand has permeated nationally with positive marketing opportunities (Football).
(02-05-2021 11:15 AM)BearcatMan Wrote: [ -> ]Yeah...the fact that UC continues to see enrollment growth like this when most contemporaries are dealing with the opposite is a testament to academic leadership and the way the brand has permeated nationally with positive marketing opportunities (Football).
I think a lot of it has to do with the insane amounts of money that went into infrastructure on and off campus over the past 20 years. We have a beautiful campus in an area that's no longer an armpit. Rewind to the late 90's and the campus and surrounding neighborhood was a concrete crime jungle, not very attractive for suburban parents to send their kids into that environment.
UC is just about the perfect school to grow during COVID.
The factors that will lead to shrinking:
1) offering in-person classes
2) high brand recognition
3) relying on local students who do not have to deal with increased travel hassles
4) low cost
UC hits the mark on all of these. But there's a lot of schools that are at the bad end of 2 or 3 of these categories (like small private liberal arts schools, or schools in CA or IL that are almost entirely remote right now).
#1 is huge and is going to become a factor in public vs. private elementary and high school enrollment.
I hope the administration is considering using some of this surge in applications to tighten up admissions and increase UC's rankings and reputation. In the long term, that will drive more fundamental demand than just taking advantage of what may or may not be a temporary upswing in applications.
(02-05-2021 02:20 PM)Bearcat 1985 Wrote: [ -> ]I hope the administration is considering using some of this surge in applications to tighten up admissions and increase UC's rankings and reputation. In the long term, that will drive more fundamental demand than just taking advantage of what may or may not be a temporary upswing in applications.
Yes!
(02-05-2021 02:20 PM)Bearcat 1985 Wrote: [ -> ]I hope the administration is considering using some of this surge in applications to tighten up admissions and increase UC's rankings and reputation. In the long term, that will drive more fundamental demand than just taking advantage of what may or may not be a temporary upswing in applications.
Exactly, and it's such a fine balance, right? That is the way to reach real long term demand, but the numbers are part of what has allowed UC to invest in facilities. I do have to say how impressive if it was to see the personal touch with the two high-performing students from Walnut and Aiken. The school's marketing, on all levels, is so much better now than even a decade ago.
A couple thoughts:
1) I wonder how many of these new applicants are the result of kids/preferring to stay local due to Covid concerns vs. going to school in New York, Chicago elsewhere.
2) How many are kids that took a “gap year” after graduating high school due to concerns of the virus and/or concerns about paying tuition for on-line classes and strict social distancing guidelines.
My daughter is one of them.
She has been offered admission.
She is 99% sure about UC, but still wants to give OSU and Miami a look.
I have a nephew who is one of them too. I think his Dad might try to push him towards Toledo (his alma mater) for engineering instead of UC, but I don't think that will happen.
I don't have the data in hand, but if UC hits 48,000 this year I have to believe the trending will stand in stark contrast to other Ohio publics, not named Ohio State. Specifically, UC continues to report increased enrollment year after year now and is pulling away from the rest of the pack. UC's gains are often the other OH public universities' losses to some degree too.
What was most remarkable was that when this growth trend began it was happening concurrent with rising admission standards. I agree with those here who suggest that those gains shouldn't be sacrificed purely for head count. Enrollment is one measure and certainly provides short term cash; maintaining selectivity will be more impactful for a public research university in the long term.
In the early 80s when OSU was lobbying the legislature to undo the forced open admissions policy of the Rhodes era, their President and the Governor who succeeded Rhodes would say that Ohio could have a flagship university that was a nationally and internationally renowned research university with all the benefits that brings or it could have a flagship university with open admissions. It couldn't have both.
The same analogy works for UC. UC can be a nationally and internationally renowned research university with all the benefits that brings or it can be an open or easy admission university. It can't be both.
(02-05-2021 11:32 PM)Bruce Monnin Wrote: [ -> ]I have a nephew who is one of them too. I think his Dad might try to push him towards Toledo (his alma mater) for engineering instead of UC, but I don't think that will happen.
Grandson just got his acceptance letter to the engineering program
- will decide between that and one other school.
It might just be me, but I will get good and dirty drunk in celebration when it's confirmed that UC is more selective than Miami. We're closing in fast, blew past OU a few years ago, and Miami is pretty much stagnant. OSU made them their ***** for in-state kids, and they can only scrape so many Big Ten rejects from the Chicago suburbs to keep themselves ahead of us.
(02-06-2021 08:48 PM)Bearcat 1985 Wrote: [ -> ]It might just be me, but I will get good and dirty drunk in celebration when it's confirmed that UC is more selective than Miami. We're closing in fast, blew past OU a few years ago, and Miami is pretty much stagnant. OSU made them their ***** for in-state kids, and they can only scrape so many Big Ten rejects from the Chicago suburbs to keep themselves ahead of us.
Miami is irrelevant. Their alumni are scattered and have little presence in the metro area.
I think Ohio U and Dayton are both bigger competitors.
(02-06-2021 08:48 PM)Bearcat 1985 Wrote: [ -> ]It might just be me, but I will get good and dirty drunk in celebration when it's confirmed that UC is more selective than Miami. We're closing in fast, blew past OU a few years ago, and Miami is pretty much stagnant. OSU made them their ***** for in-state kids, and they can only scrape so many Big Ten rejects from the Chicago suburbs to keep themselves ahead of us.
Miami is falling fast. Their discount rate is going up astronomically the past few years (when all other schools have been trying to get out of the budget sheet hole), enrollment got CRUSHED there these past two years as the main draw of that campus couldn't be realized by incoming students and their consistent tuition increases have hurt them with in-state enrollment and their Chicago and NE pipelines are drying up now that more and more schools are setting up regional admissions offices in those cities. They may be under 10,000 total student by the fall according to some buddies down there. It is not looking good at all.
(02-07-2021 08:47 AM)BearcatMan Wrote: [ -> ] (02-06-2021 08:48 PM)Bearcat 1985 Wrote: [ -> ]It might just be me, but I will get good and dirty drunk in celebration when it's confirmed that UC is more selective than Miami. We're closing in fast, blew past OU a few years ago, and Miami is pretty much stagnant. OSU made them their ***** for in-state kids, and they can only scrape so many Big Ten rejects from the Chicago suburbs to keep themselves ahead of us.
Miami is falling fast. Their discount rate is going up astronomically the past few years (when all other schools have been trying to get out of the budget sheet hole), enrollment got CRUSHED there these past two years as the main draw of that campus couldn't be realized by incoming students and their consistent tuition increases have hurt them with in-state enrollment and their Chicago and NE pipelines are drying up now that more and more schools are setting up regional admissions offices in those cities. They may be under 10,000 total student by the fall according to some buddies down there. It is not looking good at all.
10,000? They had 19,900 in fall 2019. 17,300 undergrads. Is such a large decline even possible?
(02-06-2021 10:03 PM)Captain Bearcat Wrote: [ -> ] (02-06-2021 08:48 PM)Bearcat 1985 Wrote: [ -> ]It might just be me, but I will get good and dirty drunk in celebration when it's confirmed that UC is more selective than Miami. We're closing in fast, blew past OU a few years ago, and Miami is pretty much stagnant. OSU made them their ***** for in-state kids, and they can only scrape so many Big Ten rejects from the Chicago suburbs to keep themselves ahead of us.
Miami is irrelevant. Their alumni are scattered and have little presence in the metro area.
I think Ohio U and Dayton are both bigger competitors.
Agree about Ohio and UD. Last year I took the little ones to Summit Park in Blue Ash and it looked a UD alumnus convention was being held there. Granted it was during the time the Flyer basketball team was having a tremendous season, but I have never seen as much Miami merch in one setting. Anecdotally I work with a lot of people who either got their undergrad or postgraduate degree from Dayton.