Admissions officials look towards 2010-2011

As Saint Joseph’s University continues to expand advertisement across the country, the Office of Admissions reports moderate decreases in the student acceptance rate this year.

In 2008, the class of 2012 became the largest class in St. Joe’s history as the university accepted an unprecedented 85.9 percent of student applications, a dramatic increase from 61.6 percent the year before. According to Maureen Mathis, executive director of Admissions, the 2009 admissions process produced an 81 percent acceptance rate.

“To lower the acceptance rate you need to have more applications in the pipe line,” Mathis said. “How do you get more applications into the pipeline? It’s by telling your story, having unique programs, getting alumni and parents involved in the recruitment process. It’s getting students to tell their stories on the great experiences so that more people desire a Saint Joseph’s education.”

In order to increase the application pool, Admissions has started targeting new recruiting areas in California, Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, and Saint Louis Missouri according to Mathis.

“Diversity is always very important to us in undergraduate admissions,” said Mathis. “Every admissions counselor [has the] responsibility to recruit a diverse student body.”

In an effort to diversify the student population, Mathis said that the university is also targeting students in the Christo Rey Network, a group of 24 high schools that provide educationally underprivileged students with Catholic schooling.

Last year St. Joe’s offered one full scholarship to a student who had attended a Christo Rey high school. Mathis said that St. Joe’s counselors would continue to communicate with the community organizations that work within the Christo Rey network to create more opportunities for underprivileged students.

“The purpose of the [Christo Rey Network] is that the students go to school four days a week and one day a week they do an internship in which the corporations support their education and help pay for their tuition,” said Mathis. “Usually low-income, predominately Latino students in Chicago. Students who otherwise couldn’t afford a Catholic education are getting this opportunity for a private Catholic education and going onto college and the majority wouldn’t have had this opportunity. Christo Rey schools tend to have high diversity.”

Although the Office of Admissions attempts to offer disadvantaged students an opportunity to receive a college education, Mathis said that a student’s performance within his or her college prep curriculum is considered among the most influential factors in the student selection process. 

“Our job as an admissions office at Saint Joseph’s University is to admit those students who we feel based on the information we have are prepared to be successful in the environment Saint Joseph’s university offers, and that is truly the key,” she said. “So, if a student is a mediocre student who isn’t prepared academically to be successful but sends in a video essay that is really cool, it might influence some, but ultimately they may not be prepared based on the information that we have to be successful in the environment that Saint Joseph’s University offers. It doesn’t always come down to the unique things someone did.”

According to Mathis, Admissions considers students’ acceptance essays and letters of recommendations after examining their performance within their high school curriculum.

Knowledge of the university’s emphasis on campus ministry and community-based interaction has left some students, such as Devin Tanney, ’13, scrambling to incorporate extracurricular activities into their schedules during their senior year of high school.

“I know for a lot of kids senior year is a time when they can really enjoy their last year of high school, but for myself I tried to beef up my activities to get ready for the college selection process,” said Tanney. “Everything from service to student government to dancing; everything that I could put on the list. Taking harder classes not slacking off, and really getting myself prepared so that I could stand out amongst the other college applicants.”

For Tanney, 2008’s anomalous freshman class size and rumors of students being housed in a hotel nearly two miles from campus created a sense of nervous anticipation. 

“I thought they might be selective because I knew they did want to accept fewer students so it definitely put me on edge a little a bit,” Tanney said. “I was certainly more aware of the competition while applying, however, because college is more of the norm these days. I found comfort in the fact that several other kids just like myself were in the same boat.” 

From Mathis’ perspective, the “increase in competition” for students is sometimes avoidable mental stress. Through a close examination of “reach” and “safety” schools, Mathis said that students could take a more decisive role in their college search.

“I think there has been such hype on how competitive the admissions process is, but in reality students really have more control over it all if they have done research,” said Mathis. “When you look at the competing schools you have an idea, ‘Do I have a shot or do I not?’ or, ‘Is this my reach school?’ That top echelon on schools was a reach for all of us, even if you had a 4.0 with a 1600. There were a lot of 4.0 and 1600 applying to Harvard, Yale, and Princeton, so that was still your reach, there was no guarantee. But a 4.0, a 1600 at schools like Saint Joseph’s University, you are in control. It doesn’t have to be stressful—the most stressful part for families is figuring out the financial aid in these economic times.”