Minorities applying reach all-time high

Admissions applications from minority students increased 30 percent this year, bringing the number of applicants to 4804, the highest number in the University's history, Admissions Dean Willis Stetson said last night. The number increased for all minority groups, including a 29 percent increase in Asian applications to 3424 and a 30 percent increase in African-American applications to 749. Applications from Hispanic students increased 30.9 percent to 596. With this larger minority pool to select from, officials predict they will have the chance to be extremely selective and to maximize the number of minority students at the University. "It is the largest and strongest minority applicant pool we have ever had," Stetson said. "This will afford us the opportunity to enroll a significant number of minority students." The Minority Recruiting Program, or MRP, is under the leadership of Director of Minority Recruitment Clarence Grant for the first time this year. He has worked to personalize the process, in part by meeting and getting to know more prospective students, both on and off campus. "We've tried to increase the number of students coming to see the campus," Grant said. "[Associate Director of Minority Recruitment Sonia Elliot] and I spent nine weeks on the road this year, visiting four schools each and every day." After meeting people across the country, Grant said the recruiters try to stay in touch with the many people they meet. "We stay in contact with students and counselors after we talk to them," Grant said. "We follow up after we travel, to show prospectives our commitment." Grant said MRP's goal is to create a heterogenous class of individuals so that students can learn both in and out of the classroom. "We're committed to a diverse body, so we admit students from all 50 states and from more than 60 countries," Grant said. "We want students at the University to learn about students from different backgrounds." Officials said students are still chosen primarily for their academics, and are admitted only if the officers are certain the student could do the level of work required. "We want to make sure the students can be successful here," Grant said. "While their testing scores are not as high in all cases, we look at the programs available to them at their high schools." Stetson said the MRP takes people's backgrounds into account, but strives to admit top-notch minority students to add to the richness of the University. "We give sensitivity to students from different backgrounds and are anxious to take the maximum number of top quality minority students," Stetson said. "Minority students add to the diversity and to the yeasty and dynamic environment." Grant said this increase in minority applicants will not decrease any prospective students' chances of being accepted if they are applying with exceptional academic records and are coming from a well-respected high school. "There are 2200 spots, and no one starts out with one," Grant said. "Therefore, no one takes a spot away from anyone else." Grant said many minority students are attracted to the University because of its surrounding community. "Students are looking for the richness of a city," Grant said. "The urban setting is a plus, and [the admissions officers] talk about where the University is located."

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