One of the busiest and most important weekends for the Office of Admission arrives Saturday as over 250 prospective students and their parents converge on campus.
Students from around the world will be present at Spring Preview Day aiming to give accepted prospective students a closer look at what life is like at DePauw.
According to Dani Weatherford, director of admission, the weekend offers prospective opportunities to see what life at DePauw is really like. She mentioned the opportunities potential students have to tour the construction area of the new Lily Center, visit several greek chapters on campus and meet other potential new members of the class of 2018.
Weatherford said her office is excited about this incoming class. She believes her office has had a successful cycle and is excited to see the results.
"This pool of admitted students have a stronger affinity toward DePauw," Weatherford said in an email. "They have more of an interest and connection than previous years and we measure that by their number of visits to campus."
Weatherford noted that the office of admissions has been raising the required grade point average (GPA) for admittance into DePauw.
"The students have slightly higher academic credentials than previous years," Weatherford said. "This means we are doing our part to make DePauw a little bit stronger each year."
According to the latest data from the Office of Admission, DePauw has received approximately 196 deposits. The numbers are on par with data from previous years, and according to Weatherford, "are changing each day, even each hour."
When selecting the 2,984 accepted students, Weatherford said her office looked more at a students' high school GPA.
She said her office weighted GPA higher this admission session more than previous ones because students with higher GPA's tend to make the transition to DePauw easier than those with lower high school GPAs.
Dan Meyer, vice president of admission expects the increase in GPA requirements to continue in the future.
"We will probably continue to increase the requirements as our student academic profile increases," Meyer said in an interview from March 12.
Weatherford stresses her office still looks at the entire student profile when making an admission decision.
She said the effort to strengthen DePauw's relationship with high school guidance counselors is an important step forward.
"High school counselors have a lot of influence on the choices students at their schools make about where to apply for college and, ultimately, where to attend," Weatherford said. "Developing good relationships with counselors by bringing them to campus and taking administrators to their communities is important."
She spoke specifically to an event scheduled for April 15 with two additional events geared specifically for counselors within the next six months.
In regards to the on-going conversation involving campus diversity Weatherford said her office will continue to place a larger concentration on finding students involved in community based organizations. She said forming relationships with leaders of these organizations allows DePauw to extend its brand,and find qualified students in areas away from the traditional areas in which DePauw normally recruits.
Weatherford also spoke to the continued importance of the POSSE Scholar program. The group of 2018 POSSE Scholars are excited about the office's new focus.
Kenneth Cruz a member of the 2018 New York POSSE said, "It is great for students. It gives more students something to strive for. It is really a beacon of excellence," Cruz said.
The deadline for new students to submit deposits is May 1. The payment of this $400 deposit guarantees new students a spot in the class of 2018. Weatherford praised her office's efforts thus far and is excited about meeting DePauw's newest students.