UT's athletic success spurs applications

MeanGreen61 · April 12, 2006

UT applications rise with on-field success

'Rose Bowl effect' is one of several factors behind record spring

08:59 AM CDT on Wednesday, April 12, 2006

By JAMES M. O'NEILL / The Dallas Morning News

Yeah, you were pumped as you watched the Longhorns take the field at the Rose Bowl in January. And when they won? Burnt orange ecstasy. But that thrill of victory may have cost your kid a coveted slot in this fall's freshman class at the University of Texas at Austin.

Call it the Rose Bowl effect.

That – and a bunch of other factors, including the vagaries of the high school mind – has made UT-Austin more popular than ever for high school seniors this year. And that makes it much harder to get into.

UT-Austin saw freshman undergraduate applications jump 14 percent to a record 27,326 this spring; 13,139 have been admitted.

UT's experience illustrates a national trend, as more high school students apply to college – and apply to more colleges.

For UT, that trend is exacerbated by this year's winning trip to the Rose Bowl and a 2005 college baseball title.

"There's definitely a Rose Bowl effect," said Alice Reinarz, assistant provost for enrollment at Texas A&M University. "A lot of sports publicity typically gets your name out there, and it leads to increased application numbers. You've got more alumni wearing UT shirts, and high school students see that."

Other factors

But the sports publicity is only part of the story. For starters, the state's population is rising, and with the cost of some private colleges reaching $45,000 a year, even top high school performers are looking to UT-Austin as a solid lower-cost option.

"We're seeing larger high school graduating classes, and more are selecting UT-Austin," said Bruce Walker, the school's admissions director.

More students are also taking advantage of the state law that grants automatic acceptance to state universities for high school seniors in the top 10 percent of their graduating classes. And as enrollments rise, so does the number of top-10-percenters.

David Oglesby, director of college placement at Jesuit College Preparatory School in Dallas, saw the trend firsthand. He said 22 of the school's 27 top-10-percenters applied to UT-Austin, up from 13 of 27 last year.

"UT-Austin's prestige has gone up," Mr. Oglesby said. "Top students think, 'If I don't get into Duke or Notre Dame or Georgetown, I can still get into UT-Austin.' It's insurance for them."

Elite private colleges are enjoying record applications this year, so even top students face tougher odds of getting into their first choice.

At Jesuit, for instance, Jesuit-run colleges are a natural draw, and Boston College is the school of choice. But BC this year received more than 26,000 applications, a 12 percent jump and a record for the school.

"The higher application numbers are an issue all over the country," said Wells McMurray, college counselor at Greenhill School in Addison. "There's anxiety out there. We're on the edge of a population boom."

Statewide boom

Selective colleges across Texas – both public and private – are seeing a record number of applications. Baylor University has gotten 21,402 applications, a 41 percent increase over last year. Southern Methodist University expects 8,250 applications, an increase of about 9 percent from two years ago. Rice University received 8,764 applications this year, a record for that school and an 11 percent jump over last year. Applications are up nearly 10 percent at the University of North Texas.

Some of the increase is artificially inflated as students, feeling pressure, send out more applications. Where once applying to three schools seemed a safe bet, now students are applying to 10 or 15. Online applications, as well as the Texas Common Application, which allows a student to apply to multiple schools simultaneously, bloat the numbers.

Not only is UT-Austin a respectable backup for top students – it's also a far cheaper alternative. Annual tuition at UT is $7,630 for in-state freshmen enrolled as liberal arts students.

"Cost is definitely a factor these days," Mr. Oglesby said. "It's clear that up front, families are saying, 'This is what we can afford.' "

Paula Barnhouse, a counselor at MacArthur High School in Irving, said that as federal aid has shifted from grants to loans, parents are leery of taking on the debt, pushing more top students to lower-cost public universities in their own state.

UT-Austin received applications from 8,649 students in the top 10 percent of their classes this year – up 76 percent from seven years ago. The top-10-percent applicants made up 75 percent of all Texas students receiving acceptance letters from UT-Austin this spring. In 1999, only 46 percent of all Texas students accepted by UT-Austin were top-10-percenters.

The shift creates a domino effect for students beneath the top 10 percent mark, making competition more intense for fewer remaining slots.

To better handle the size of its freshman class, UT-Austin assigns about 800 students to an earlier summer session. Mr. Oglesby said that last year, to ensure even a summer slot, students needed to score around 1200 out of a possible 1600 on the SAT's verbal and math tests. This year, he said, 1250 seemed to be the benchmark.

Another option

UT-Austin also provides students who are not in the top 10 percent with another option, the coordinated admissions program. CAP allows them to attend a different campus in the UT System for a year, and if they maintain at least a 3.2 grade-point average, they can enroll the following year at Austin. Some who might have made it into the summer group at Austin a few years back are now being pushed into CAP.

"It seems each year fewer are getting in who are not in the top 10 percent," said Pam Hill, a college adviser at Allen High School. "It's very, very competitive."

In addition to the external forces all schools are seeing, some credit their own marketing and improvements as a cause for the increase in applications. UNT, for instance, has increased merit scholarships to attract more top-10-percent students, and it recently added dormitory space on campus for 1,500 more students. Of course, no matter how much marketing, campus construction and sports success a school engages in, there's always that wild-card element to application numbers in a given year – the whims of the teenage mind.

"The behavior of high school seniors is unpredictable, and many factors determine where they apply," said Dr. Reinarz at Texas A&M, where applications stood at about 20,000, virtually unchanged from last year.

Greenhill's Mr. McMurray agreed: "You get a student with gravitas who is well-regarded by his peers, and he decides to go to UT-Austin, and the other kids will say, 'Well, if he wants to go there, it must be good.' And so more are going to go."

E-mail joneill@dallasnews.com

FirefightnRick · April 12, 2006

"You get a student with gravitas who is well-regarded by his peers, and he decides to go to UT-Austin, and the other kids will say, 'Well, if he wants to go there, it must be good.' And so more are going to go."
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BAH AH AH AH AH AH AH AH!!!!!!!! Goes the sheep!

Rick

Eagle1855 · April 12, 2006

BAH AH AH AH AH AH AH AH!!!!!!!! Goes the sheep!
Rick
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maybe, but would you say that if they were writing these articles about NT's (relative) athletic success? honestly, I am curious, not taking jabs.

I still maintain that athletics are the window through which the outside world first gets a glimpse of a school. It can create an interest in a student to where they actively seek more information about the academic side. Athletics are the ultimate marketing campaign

I mean, most people are looking for something to belong to, to be a part of, in all facets of life. I dont know that its a bad thing. May not be my thing or you thing, but still.

If we are going to call them sheep, I wish we had a few more in our fold. Especially if they are going to show up in droves to Fouts Field and the Super Pit...

Edited April 12, 2006 by Eagle1855

Quoner · April 12, 2006

BAH AH AH AH AH AH AH AH!!!!!!!! Goes the sheep!
Rick
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Get over it McDouche - dd it offend you when Gonzaga's applications spiked - or GMU's?

Texas is a great school - deal with it. We go somewhere else and that's cool too.

FirefightnRick · April 12, 2006

Ah, QTroll dares to address me? LOL

Rick

Edited April 12, 2006 by FirefightnRick

Quoner · April 12, 2006

Ah, QTroll dares to address me? LOL
Rick
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Am I worthy of addressing the God of the board?

Animal sacrifice required?

I took off my shoes.

Stan R · April 12, 2006

Am I worthy of addressing the God of the board?
Animal sacrifice required?
I took off my shoes.
←

Did you provide the required handshake?

Don't worry, I already sacrificed the requisite goat in your honor.

the green rokemi · April 12, 2006

UT applications rise with on-field success
'Rose Bowl effect' is one of several factors behind record spring
08:59 AM CDT on Wednesday, April 12, 2006
By JAMES M. O'NEILL / The Dallas Morning News

Southern Methodist University expects 8,250 applications, an increase of about 9 percent from two years ago.
E-mail joneill@dallasnews.com
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They "expect"? Is that number Butts in Classroom Seats?

Edited April 12, 2006 by the green rokemi