College receives record number of applicants

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Author: Damian Mendieta

The Office of Admissions received a record of 6,136 applications for the class of 2016, of which they accepted 2,393, solidifying the acceptance rate at 39%. According to Dean of Admissions Vincent Cuseo, the incoming class of 2016 is the strongest class academically in the college’s history although the admittance rate increased one percent from last year.

The accepted students average an unweighted GPA of 3.77 and a median combined SAT score of 2040.

The college aggressively expanded recruitment abroad and in geographically underrepresented regions of the country in preparation for this year’s round of admissions, including the the establishment of academic connections with overseas institutions in China, according to Cuseo.

Occidental admitted more international students than ever before, and the Chinese pool of applicants doubled from last year.

The college expects 540 students to enroll from the 2,393 accepted, 50 of which will be transfer students. According to Cuseo, the enrollment target figure has not changed significantly from previous years.

“This target is meant to maintain a student body roughly the same size,” Cuseo said. “The college as a whole may decide to increase or shrink the enrollment.”

According to Cuseo, the enrollment number is established by the Budget and Finance Committee, a group that includes the Board of Trustees and faculty.

“[The 540 target enrollment] is really driven by the total enrollment figure that it allows the college, which is very tuition dependent, to secure tuition dollars to allow us to remain solvent,” Cuseo said. “We’re not a profit institution, but it runs very much like a business, and so we’re much more tuition dependent than a place like Pomona that has a $1.5 billion endowment.”

The college held its first accepted students open house last Friday and will continue to hold more throughout the month. The Multicultural Visit Program, taking place April 12-14, will also bring ethnically and geographically underrepresented students to campus. Many prospective students tend to submit letters of intent, accepting the college’s offer, following such events according to Cuseo.

The demographics of the incoming class is the product of heavier recruitment in China and Mexico, Cuseo said. President Jonathan Veitch traveled extensively to China to foster a relationship between Occidental and Nanjing University, enticing more Chinese students to apply to the college.

The college has also been expanding its recruitment in Mexico, with hopes of greater recruitment throughout Latin America, Cuseo said. Occidental hired a former Occidental student to travel extensively throughout Mexico and represent the college in Mexican college fairs, high school visits and student-family conferences.

“We hired an Oxy alum, who has lived in Mexico, who is very capable,” Cuseo said. “She served as a proxy representative for the admissions department.”

Only 135 students have signed letters of intent as of April 6. Cuseo does not expect to have an accurate estimate for the class until very late in the month since electronic acceptances and the mandatory deposit means that students typically don’t commit until the last minute.

“You’d be surprised how many students wait until the very last minute, literally, to make their decisions,” Cuseo said. “If you came to me on April 25, it’s not as if we’re at 75 percent of the way there, a large percentage of the commits come in over the last two days.”

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