Interest in University up since terrorist attacks

The Office of Admissions is filled with bright-eyed high school seniors every year. They wait nervously to go on tours and meet with admissions officers, but more importantly they wait to gain a sense if IU is the right place for them.\nThe hustle and bustle of the Office of Admissions has increased exponentially.\nThe number of high school seniors requesting information about IU went up 31 percent and the number of applications for admission for next year went up 22 percent in the last month, said Don Hossler, associate vice president of academic affairs for enrollment services. Attendance at IU recruiting events has doubled.\nThe cause: the Sept. 11 attacks. \nBecause of safety and economic concerns, parents and students are considering more schools outside metropolitan areas, Hossler said.\n"There may be a fair number of parents wanting to keep kids close to home because of security issues," Hossler said. \nHossler pointed to a recession in the economy as another possible cause for students choosing to stay closer to home.\n"Families may no longer have the financial means to send kids to more expensive, out-of-state schools," Hossler said. "If the economy takes a significant downturn, students may have to seriously debate going to an out-of-state school." \nIU tuition is $4,734 for in-state students and $14,468 for out-of-state students.\nEven as parents begin to keep their children closer to home for financial reasons and safety concerns, Hossler said there are still more out-of-state applicants.\n"IU provides a safe and economically sound alternative to metro area schools that parents may find unsafe and expensive," Hossler said.\nCampus visits have also increased in the last month, said Jane Gantz, senior associate director of admissions. Gantz's days are filled with tours, off-campus demonstrations and previews, individual counseling sessions and stacks of applications to review.\n"Not only have we seen an increased number of students visiting campus, but we have seen an increased attendance at previews across the country," Gantz said.\nWhile the popularity of the University is on the rise, the enrollment capacity has not changed. \n"We don't have a quota of students we accept from each state," Gantz said. "We accept the students who meet our set criteria and are academically competitive."\nHossler dismissed the notion of raising academic standards to complement the increase in popularity.\n"It's very hard to increase admission standards in the short run," Hossler said. "We have a commitment to high school guidance counselors and prospective students to hold to the standards we have set in the past."\nAn Oct. 5 article in The Wall Street Journal named IU a "hot school" since Sept. 11, because of its location and academic programs.\nElizabeth Bernstein, one of the article's authors and an IU alumnus, compared IU to the likes of Illinois Wesleyan University, Miami University of Ohio and the College of William & Mary, in terms of economic value, educational merit and overall appeal.\n"We spoke to a panel of guidance counselors and asked them which colleges high school seniors are now focusing on," Berstein said. "What we found was that smaller and more local universities are gaining more popularity with parents, but students don't seem to be worried about safety concerns.\n"IU is outside of the so-called terrorist area of big cities," she said. "Parents would feel safe if their kids were in Bloomington"