In a year which many universities feared the sagging economy would result in fewer incoming freshmen, the University of Miami’s College of Arts and Sciences has seen its number of new student deposits stay on track with last year and even increase a bit, according to the school’s interim dean, Dr. Jacqueline Dixon.
The numbers did not always look so good. As of May, the number of incoming new students who had paid their deposits was down ten percent in the College of Arts and Sciences. The number for the entire university was down one percent.
At the start of classes, the College of Arts and Sciences had 960 incoming students – the exact same number as last year.
The university as a whole has also matched last year’s numbers with roughly 2,000 new undergraduates, according to the university’s admissions office.
To ensure that the numbers do not drop, the college dipped into the waiting list, which was expanded to provide greater flexibility if needed.
“This is not a new phenomenon,” said Paul Orehovec, the vice president for the division of enrollment management. “We [the college] generally take students from the waiting list every third year. Harvard does it too; everyone does.”
The statistics of the average grade point average and SAT scores for the students will not be available until October but Dixon is confident the incoming class will be an excellent one, saying the dip into the waiting list “did not diminish the quality of the students at all.”
“We are very proud – and relieved – for this,” said Dixon. “It’s going to be a great year and we are excited for our new students; they are of the utmost quality.”