SIXTEEN percent doesn't sound like much. But a 16-percent drop in undergraduate applications is a lot. That's how many potential students the University lost this year. It's a significant drop for one year, especially since, according to Dean of Admissions John A. Blackburn, other schools similar in size and stature to the University saw increases in their applicant numbers. Noticing this drop is important, but determining what caused it is essential.
In a personal interview, Blackburn said that the decrease in the number of applicants to the University may be the result of a number of factors. Changes in the application process - a consolidation of paperwork and an application fee increase - may have had some role, particularly in decreasing the number of applicants who aren't serious about U.Va. But Blackburn said that changes to the University's national image likely played a part as well.
As most of us remember, the University's ranking in U.S. News and World Report fell last fall from No. 1 to No. 2 in the category of public universities.
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Students and administrators immediately rushed to the University's defense. Some people pointed out the arbitrary nature of several of the measures the magazine used in its rankings. For instance, U.S. News used the number of classes with less than 20 students to measure class size - a category that hurt the University's ranking. This ignores small classes that barely are above the cutoff, such as the numerous discussion sections that have 20 or 22 students.
As a result, many of us declared our indifference to U.S. News' evaluation. We don't care about rankings, we said. Some numbers in a magazine don't change the quality of this institution or the education we're getting.
And we were right - the number a magazine assigns us through a flawed rankings process shouldn't change how we feel about the school we attend. But perhaps it should make us think about this University's future. Because evidently, it is affecting how other people see this school, which is something we should care about.
Blackburn said that he thinks most people understand the quality of the University, but that "some people, particularly out-of-state applicants, do pay attention to those rankings."
As much as we'd like it not to be true, a school's ability to attract the best students depends on image and rankings. It's unfortunate that we have to worry about trying to improve image in addition to substance. But it's a game every college plays. Recruiting depends on image, which the media largely controls. That's why the Office of Admissions cares about the success of our athletic teams, the publicity our faculty's groundbreaking research receives and the rankings we get. Fair or unfair, what U.S. News says about the University affects its image.
Our University doesn't actually have to decrease in quality for students to stop applying here - prospective students merely need to think it has. The ironic result is that once people mistakenly think the University has gotten worse, it actually might.
The quality of applicants directly affects the quality of the student body. The top schools want to receive as many applications as possible because the more competitive the application process is, the more selective the school can be. As a result, accepted students will be the cream of the crop. For example, Harvard University had about 17,000 applications for around 1,700 spots last year (http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/ugrad00/dradmiss_2155.htm). Harvard can accept only the best students because it can afford to be extremely selective.
The more applicants a school gets, the more selective it can be, which usually results in a better freshman class. And the quality of students is tied to the ability of a school to attract and retain professors and administrators, as well as to raise money.
It's not yet time to hit the panic button - Blackburn said that the Office of Admissions is extremely pleased with the applicant pool. His assessment is that the applicants are not of decreased quality this year, despite the decrease in their quantity. Likewise, the potential effects mentioned above are long-term: They won't happen in one year.
But we should remember that our University's survival depends on its ability to compete for students. And like it or not, magazine rankings are not irrelevant to that ability.
So let's take a look at the deficiencies U.S. News found, even if we don't feel they're substantive shortcomings. Let's make an effort to protect our ranking and our image. It may not be right in asserting that image is everything. But it is something.
(Bryan Maxwell's column appears Wednesdays in The Cavalier Daily.)
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