University News
Admissions Standards Update
December 9, 2013
MACOMB, IL -- Earlier this year, Western Illinois University announced it would increase admissions standards for high school seniors applying for the Fall 2014 semester, and according to Admissions Director Andy Borst, the increased standards are having an impact.
"We are admitting students who have the best chance for success at WIU," Borst explained. "We are seeing an increase in applications from qualified students, and we are making admissions decisions in a more expedited manner than in previous years.
"We have improved our decision timeline from three weeks during the highest volume of applications down to only four days," he added. "Even with the increase in applications, a student who submits an application on a Monday will have an admissions decision by Friday."
Borst noted that although WIU is turning away more applicants, freshman applicants who meet the increased admissions standards are up 12.6 percent compared to the previous year. This increase includes 8.5 percent more students with profiles above the institutional averages of ACT score and grade point average who qualify for Western Commitment Scholarships. WIU expects to receive an additional 5,500 freshmen applications until the Aug. 1 deadline.
According to Borst, during the Spring 2014 semester, the emphasis of the Admissions Office will move from application processing to encouraging students to commit to attending Western.
"We will work to encourage them to visit campus and see Western firsthand. The best asset we have to get high school students to commit to WIU is to get them on campus and meet our faculty," Borst said. "For every two accepted students who come to campus for an official admissions visit, one will enroll. Prospective students frequently comment that our campus exceeds their expectations and that the people they interact with are so helpful and make them feel at home. We believe that we can reach our enrollment goals if we can get more students to visit campus."
Throughout the spring semester, the Office of Admissions will host several programs for accepted students in the Chicago and St. Louis metro areas. In addition, special on-campus visit days for larger academic programs are planned, as are Amtrak train programs, open house programs and overnight programs in the residence halls.
For more information about Western's admissions standards, contact the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at (309) 298-3100 or admissions@wiu.edu.
Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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