As the year begins to wind down and the Class of 2012 prepares for graduation, the Admissions Office at Longwood is making preparations for the incoming freshman class for the 2012-2013 academic year. Last year, the largest class to date was recorded in Longwood's history books, with a freshmen class of 1,053 students. This year, the office expects around that same number of students.
Dean of Admissions Sallie McMullin says they expect a freshman class anywhere from 1,050 to 1,090 students. "The amount of students will be more like last year than it has been in the two previous years as far as numbers go," said McMullin in an interview earlier this week. Longwood's goal last year was 1,074 students and now this year it has increased by a dozen.
Dean McMullin said so far, 35 percent of those students anticipated to come to Longwood have paid their deposits. "We're right in the middle of everything now. Everyday it's a different story. Some days we have a stack of papers and then the next we'll have nothing" said McMullin.
Longwood keeps track of all their admissions by deposits and calculates the trend by looking at past years' admissions as well. McMullin said that another thing Longwood does is keep track of the students that say "No" and code them. This way they know not to keep calling the person but they also hold on to their information just in case the student changes their mind after a year and wants to come to Longwood.
Another thing the university does to keep track of prospective students is by sending out a questionnaire to both accepted students and those who said "No." For the students who said "No," the admissions office asks where they decided to go instead, which is a way Longwood is able to keep track of their competition as well. "James Madison University (JMU) tends to be a big competitor with us. We have also noticed Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), Radford University and Mary Washington University" said Dean McMullin. She also emphasized that the right kind of student has to want to come here and want what Longwood has to offer, which is, just to name a few things, the small classes, the opportunity to get to know your faculty and the chance to be a leader.
Admissions Counselor Katelyn Jamrozy said the biggest thing that attracts students to Longwood is seeing the campus. "We do a lot to get students and their families to come visit, because once they come, they love the campus." Jamrozy said in an email. Jamrozy's job involves making the "personal connection" with potential students and helping them with the admissions process as well as answering any Longwood or college related questions.
With another large class expected to arrive in the fall, the question of housing has been brought up on more than one occasion. Despite many students still in transitional housing, McMullin said from what she understands after keeping in steady contact with Larry Robertson, associate dean of students and executive director for Residential and Commuter Life, all those students have been offered the opportunity to change out of those transitional rooms. McMullin explained "That is part of the growth plan" and there will be more transitional housing for freshmen and transfers.
Incoming students are made aware of the possibility of transitional housing if they ask, and are told at orientation as well. McMullin said Longwood can now no longer guarantee housing for all four years and that she wishes they were in a position to have more housing opportunities, but for now they have transitional rooms. It is not uncommon to have tripling however, said McMullin, as schools such as William & Mary does tripling all the time.
