The deadline for prospective students to commit to DePauw is May 1 — ten days from today — and the admissions office is in full swing.
"For the next three weeks we crack a smile and throw out all the positives about DePauw," said Dan Meyer, vice president of Admission and Financial Aid. "For a lot of kids this is their last chance to see the campus and make a decision."
As of now, DePauw has received about 5,200 applications. About 57 percent of these students have been accepted and the admissions office is predicting a yield of about 22 percent. Meyer explained the office of admissions is looking for a class "between 620 to 640." This is very different compared to the graduating class of 2013, now sophomores, which yielded 717 students.
Every year the office searches for students who fit the DePauw mold well — intelligent, engaged students who are also searching for a social experience. The counselors contact students and discuss any concerns, which typically include the school's size or location.
Cory Meixner, a senior in high school from Indianapolis, has committed to DePauw. He said that since February the baseball coach has called him monthly, and admissions officers have both called and sent emails and letters. He also stayed overnight with a current student earlier this school year.
"For me, [DePauw] was the overall package of baseball and dynamics," Meixner said. "That was the deal breaker."
Students are selected based on criteria including SAT, ACT, GPA, and their rank in class. Four main objectives are outlined during the recruitment for every class: one is to enhance academic quality, a second is to create a target range of students attending, a third is to maintain current diversity, which is about 20 percent domestic and 10 percent international and the final objective is to live within the financial budget.
Meyer sees himself as the conductor behind all of this, harmonizing the four objectives for an ideal incoming freshman class.
"I am more of an orchestrator to get us to play beautiful music together," said Meyer.
But this music has been getting harder to play, especially with an economy that has seen better days, which Meyer says "hasn't helped us."
Focusing on budgetary restrictions and goals is as much a part as recruiting a certain number of students. And with a rising tuition and bad economic conditions, the graduating class of 2015 may not see the same type of financial help from the university.
"We really want to find students who can pay higher percentage of the bill," said Meyer.
Over 99 percent of the current DePauw student body receives some sort of academic scholarship. Meyer and the admissions office pointed out that financial aid will be awarded less to students who may not be under the same financial constrictions as others.
"A hallmark of DePauw University is providing education for families with limited needs," said Meyer, emphasizing that these new standards will not hinder where the admissions office is searching for future students.
"Academic quality is at the heart of anything we want to do," Meyer said.
Even with only 10 days left before the deadline for committing, Meyer isn't ready to predict how close they will come to their ideal range of 620-640 students.
"We're not where we want to be," Meyer said, although the numbers of students applied and admitted are similar to the final numbers of last year. He says he won't be happy until this incoming class is fully formed.
— Chase Hall contributed to this story.