The number of applications to the Commerce School declined slightly this year, and the school's acceptance rate increased to about 75 percent.
This year, 400 students applied to the Commerce School, compared with 449 last year, about an 11 percent decline in applications.
In letters mailed March 3, 202 applicants were offered admission, 129 were deferred, and 69 were not offered admission.
At the end of the spring semester, about 100 of the deferred students will be offered admission based on their application and performance this semester.
"While 400 applications represents a slight decline, I do not believe this will impact the quality of the incoming class, and the pool may in fact be stronger than in past years," said Rebecca Leonard, assistant dean for student services.
One reason the pool may be stronger despite the application decline is that some students think competition is too rigorous and choose not to apply, Leonard said.
The students who believe they will not get into the Commerce School are "self-selecting themselves out ... which is unfortunate," she said.
But, in fact, three out of four students who applied this year were accepted, which is much higher than students think, Leonard added.
The acceptance rate of 75 percent "is really where we want to be," Leonard said. Last year, 70 percent of applicants were accepted.
Besides self-selection, several other factors also may have contributed to the decline in applications, Leonard said.
New programs in the College, such as the Media Studies Program, and the financial management concentration in the economics department may have drawn some students away from the Commerce School, she said.
The Media Studies Program, a new interdisciplinary, aims to provide students with an introduction to the expanding field of digital media, an area of interest to many students interested in business careers.
Commerce School Dean Carl P. Zeithaml said he agrees that self-selection and the new College majors have taken some students away from the applicant pool. But Zeithaml said he believes the slight decrease is due "more to normal year-to-year fluctuations than anything else."
"The quality of our applicant pool continues to be exceptionally strong," he said.
This year's applicants boasted credentials similar to those in past years in terms of quantifiable data such as grade point average, Leonard said.
The average GPA of accepted students this year was 3.44. In 1999, the average GPA of accepted students was very similar at 3.4.
It is difficult to place a numerical value on other factors, but admitted students "presented strong coursework, leadership and extra-curricular activities," Leonard said.
Second-year College student Steven Looke was among the students offered admission to the Commerce School.
Looke said he was aware of the decrease in the number of applications but said he is nonetheless "really excited about the Comm School" and hopes that more people will consider it as an option.
He said he believes the increase in the acceptance rate will encourage more students to apply, but he is concerned that the decreasing number of applications combined with an increasing acceptance rate will harm the Commerce School's reputation.
Second-year College student Dave Henning said he opted not to apply to the Commerce School and will instead stay in the College for a variety of reasons. He will major in economics.
Henning said someone once told him "if you can't think of any more fun classes in the College that you want to take, then go into the Comm School. But if there are still a lot of classes you want to take you should stay in the College"
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