Freshman Applications to Northwestern Up Over Last Year

EVANSTON, Ill. --- Freshman applications for the Class of 2013 at Northwestern University are expected to be 3 to 4 percent higher than last year's total of 25,013.

The Office of Undergraduate Admission, which is still processing applications received just before the deadline, reports that 25,385 students had applied as of Jan. 20. That is 2 percent higher than the final total a year ago, said Michael Mills, associate provost for university enrollment.

Mills said applications from African-American and Latino/a students are up sharply -- 22 and 50 percent, respectively. "This is tremendously gratifying because so many in the Northwestern community worked passionately to achieve this outcome," Mills said. Applications from Asian-American students are up 10 percent while international applications are up 4.8 percent. Applications from white students are down 5 percent.

Applications from students attending Chicago Public Schools are up sharply - 33 percent -- from one year ago.

Mills said Early Decision applications increased 13 percent this year, to 1,569. The total does not include an additional 100 students who initially applied for Early Decision but changed their application to the Regular Decision pool.

Mills said that although the rate of increase in freshman applications is lower than the previous three years, "we are very satisfied with this year's applicant pool. We view this year's limited growth as a major accomplishment, given the state of the
economy."