Banner Year for 'Berg Admissions
For the fifth straight year, Muhlenberg College has received more than 4,300 applications for freshman admission. This year's total is 4,569, up from 4,410 last year.Monday, May 24, 2010 11:45 AM
The College is on target to enroll 595 first-year students this fall. Current net first-year deposits stand at 621. The College is seeking to maintain steady enrollment of about 2,200 traditional day students.
For the past 11 years, the College has admitted fewer than 50 percent of its applicants. This year's acceptance rate is 48 percent. Less than 150 colleges nationally admit less than half of their applicants.
"Quality continues to be the name of the game," say Dean of Admission and Financial Aid Christopher Hooker-Haring. "All of our key quality indicators improved again this year. We also made significant strides with our diversity initiatives." More than 11 percent of the incoming class will be made up of students of color, the largest entering group of multicultural students in the College's history.
A major addition to Seegers Union, a new performing arts rehearsal house, a major Hillel expansion, and several recently built residence halls have contributed to Muhlenberg's momentum on the admissions front. Several new academic programs in areas such as Film Studies, Finance, African American Studies and Public Health also have spurred student interest, according to Hooker-Haring. But, he notes that "it is still the Muhlenberg people - students, faculty and staff - who make the experience what it is and are our primary drawing card. Prospective students and parents often comment on the special sense of community and high energy they experience when they visit our campus. That's a difference-maker for us."
