Marquette ahead of pace for enrollment goal for Class of 2024

[Macallan 18]

Marquette Tribune article about the Class of 2024 numbers - https://marquettewire.org/4024070/news/university-ahead-of-pace-for-enrollment-goal-for-class-of-2024/


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This story was written by Annie Mattea. She can be reached at anne.mattea@marquette.edu.


Marquette University has admitted 3% more students for the Class of 2024 than it had at this time last year, Brian Troyer, dean of undergraduate admissions, said.

The university also received 2% more applications for the Class of 2024, making for a total of nearly 15,000, Troyer said.

The university’s goal for the number of enrolled students for the Class of 2024 is 2,014.

“We are ahead of the pace we feel like we would need to be at to meet that goal,” Troyer said. “We are exceeding expectations when it comes to the number of students we are admitting and we are doing it with a very academically talented … class.” 

Enrollment for the Class of 2023 was 1,975, 225 less than the Class of 2022. The university has been anticipating a decrease in enrollment beginning in 2026 due to demographic changes, an emailed August letter from Marquette University President Michael Lovell said.

The university has taken measures to combat the upcoming financial challenges, including laying off 2.5% of Marquette employees in September and considering a potential merge for the College of Education.

Marquette went test optional in June, allowing applicants to decide whether to include standardized test scores in their applications. Troyer said the university expected about 15-25% of students to apply test optional. So far 18% have chosen to apply with that option.

He also said the university has seen a half point increase in the average ACT scores of admitted students, while SAT scores have remained the same.

The university has also admitted 1% more students from Illinois than last year. Illinois remains the largest state with applicants to Marquette, with about 6,700 applications for the Class of 2024 are from Illinois, Troyer said.

Last year, the university saw lower numbers of enrollment from Illinois. Troyer previously told the Marquette Wire that Illinois’s higher education marketplace has become more competitive.

Wisconsin has also seen an increase, with 6% more applicants. There are about 3,200 applicants from Wisconsin, Troyer said.

In terms of individual colleges, Troyer said some colleges have received more interest than others. The College of Arts & Sciences remains the most popular and has currently admitted 244 more students than last year.

The College of Nursing has also admitted its goal for students this year.

“The demand for a Marquette nursing education continues to grow,” Janet Wessel Krejci, dean of the College of Nursing, said in an email. “We have expanded both in undergraduate and graduate programs over the past several years.”

Troyer said the university has been surprised at the growing interest in the College of Health Sciences and also mentioned the strength in the college’s recruitment.

Between 2014 and 2018, the college added 300 additional students to their first-year classes, William Cullinan, dean of the College of Health Sciences, said.

Cullinan said the college’s research laboratories and gross anatomy facilities are draws to the university. During April, more than 4,000 high school Advanced Placement biology students visit the college’s anatomy lab, Cullinan said.

Troyer also said the College of Communication has admitted more students than last year. The College of Communication was the only college to experience growth for the Class of 2023, with 11% more enrolled students than in the Class of 2022.

The College of Education is ahead of pace, as well, he said.

There has also been a 23% increase in black and African American students and a 12% increase in Hispanic students over last year.

First-generation students make up more than 20% of applicants to Marquette for this year.

Troyer said although numbers for admitted students are higher, it does not necessarily mean higher numbers of students will come to the university. He said during the spring it is important for admissions to engage with potential students for next year.

“Just because we have admitted more and feel really good about the overall quality of the class, we don’t know that these students are going to come,” Troyer said. 

He said this distinction is increasingly important, as the number of applications to multiple colleges has increased in recent years.

Strategies include events such as Admitted Students Day in April, which has a high yield rate in terms of students committing to Marquette.

The event is a day for admitted students to meet with colleges they are interested in and to interact with other admitted students, according to Marquette’s website.

There are also admitted student receptions across the country for Marquette. Troyer said Admissions offers individualized visits, such as tours, department visits, in which students visit a specific college, and shadow visits, in which admitted students follow a current Marquette student through their classes.

Troyer also said the university has a very active social media in terms of admissions, engaging students through the admitted student Facebook page, along with other avenues such as Twitter.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

This is good, but simply getting more applications and admitting more students doesn't mean much unless they pay a deposit and show up.  (Which they acknowledge toward the end of the article.)

[Dr. Blackheart]

This is good, but simply getting more applications and admitting more students doesn't mean much unless they pay a deposit and show up.  (Which they acknowledge toward the end of the article.)

You can’t land more unless you attract more. Really like the I&D efforts and jump. MU appears to be fishing in new pools, understanding the rapidly changing demographics. These are all things we discussed previously. It still seems like Loyola is ahead as the Illinois numbers allude to and we discussed, but MU fighting back with its strengths. Inclusion efforts to close and retain are critical to enrollment nowadays versus relying on legacies.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

You can’t land more unless you attract more.

That actually not necessarily true.

[Dr. Blackheart]

That actually not necessarily true.

But, it mostly is. See Wojo.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

bUt WhAt AbOuT tHe AcCePtAnCe RaTe???   

[Cheeks]

Going through this with my daughter at the moment....amazed at the acceptance rates by the private schools so far.

Xavier
Butler
Seton Hall
DePaul
Marymount
Etc etc

All have said yes.  She’s a solid student without a doubt, but will be interesting when the public’s start responding. 

[Dr. Blackheart]

Going through this with my daughter at the moment....amazed at the acceptance rates by the private schools so far.

Xavier
Butler
Seton Hall
DePaul
Marymount
Etc etc

All have said yes.  She’s a solid student without a doubt, but will be interesting when the public’s start responding.

When does the California schools letter go out? First of April? They want to see if the seniors are mailing it in 2nd semester.  Very competitive as you know. The privates, especially ones with high rated specialties (PT, Nursing) try to lock them up early.

[Cheeks]

When does the California schools letter go out? First of April? They want to see if the seniors are mailing it in 2nd semester.  Very competitive as you know. The privates, especially ones with high rated specialties (PT, Nursing) try to lock them up early.

March 1 to March 31 for California

I’m amazed at the scholarship “money”....I realize it is just coined that way as an offset to the retail price, but you can see how it grabs people.  $100k offset over 4 years lit up some eyes to which I immediately asked...WHAT’s the net nut? Don’t tell me how much I get off, tell me how much I owe.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

March 1 to March 31 for California

I’m amazed at the scholarship “money”....I realize it is just coined that way as an offset to the retail price, but you can see how it grabs people.  $100k offset over 4 years lit up some eyes to which I immediately asked...WHAT’s the net nut? Don’t tell me how much I get off, tell me how much I owe.

That's why I spreadsheeted all this so I could see what the NET Cost was per year by school and also over four years.   
We filled in the Scholarships offers as they came in.

[Cheeks]

That's why I spreadsheeted all this so I could see what the NET Cost was per year by school and also over four years.   
We filled in the Scholarships offers as they came in.

Yup.  Already started.  Have to factor in avg plane costs and other expenses as well. 

[Disco Hippie]

You can’t land more unless you attract more. Really like the I&D efforts and jump. MU appears to be fishing in new pools, understanding the rapidly changing demographics. These are all things we discussed previously. It still seems like Loyola is ahead as the Illinois numbers allude to and we discussed, but MU fighting back with its strengths. Inclusion efforts to close and retain are critical to enrollment nowadays versus relying on legacies.

Are they really fishing in new pools?  It's great that the numbers are up and they're maintaining academic quality, but it seems to me they're still only concentrating on WI and IL.  They talk a big game when it comes to diversity and to their credit they've put their money where their mouth is by recruiting more minorities and first generation students.  That's all well and good, but diversity is more than just racial and socio-economic.  It's geographic too, but for whatever reason they don't seem to prioritize that even though they claim to be a "desitination school".   If they really want to grow they need to focus on new markets, and more importantly, make themselves appear to be a more attractive option in those markets.  As Fluffy eloquently put it, unless they pay a deposit and show up, none of this matters.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Are they really fishing in new pools?  It's great that the numbers are up and they're maintaining academic quality, but it seems to me they're still only concentrating on WI and IL.  They talk a big game when it comes to diversity and to their credit they've put their money where their mouth is by recruiting more minorities and first generation students.  That's all well and good, but diversity is more than just racial and socio-economic.  It's geographic too, but for whatever reason they don't seem to prioritize that even though they claim to be a "desitination school".   If they really want to grow they need to focus on new markets, and more importantly, make themselves appear to be a more attractive option in those markets.  As Fluffy eloquently put it, unless they pay a deposit and show up, none of this matters.

I was thinking somewhere along these lines last week.  By refusing to match or even getting close to Xavier's grant/scholarships offer for Daughter #1, Marquette is probably losing out on my Daughter #2.  It would have been first choice for Daughter #2, if her older sister attended, but is farther down the list now.  Marquette is still on Daughter #2 list mainly because they have a Nursing School and she knows Nursing is competitive and doesn't want to rule out anyplace interesting. 

[Disco Hippie]

I was thinking somewhere along these lines last week.  By refusing to match or even getting close to Xavier's grant/scholarships offer for Daughter #1, Marquette is probably losing out on my Daughter #2.  It would have been first choice for Daughter #2, if her older sister attended, but is farther down the list now.  Marquette is still on Daughter #2 list mainly because they have a Nursing School and she knows Nursing is competitive and doesn't want to rule out anyplace interesting.

Fair enough, and the issues you raise with regard to grants/scholarships are real, but the broader point I'm trying to make is that being in CT, it's extremely unlikely Marquette would have been on either of your daughters' lists if you didn't go there.  What I'm saying is, that MU needs to be on a lot more students' lists from a much wider geographic footprint, regardless of whether one or both of their parents went there or have other family ties to the Midwest or WI specifically. 

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Are they really fishing in new pools?  It's great that the numbers are up and they're maintaining academic quality, but it seems to me they're still only concentrating on WI and IL.  They talk a big game when it comes to diversity and to their credit they've put their money where their mouth is by recruiting more minorities and first generation students.  That's all well and good, but diversity is more than just racial and socio-economic.  It's geographic too, but for whatever reason they don't seem to prioritize that even though they claim to be a "desitination school".   If they really want to grow they need to focus on new markets, and more importantly, make themselves appear to be a more attractive option in those markets.  As Fluffy eloquently put it, unless they pay a deposit and show up, none of this matters.

It is much more cost effective, and I mean MUCH more cost effective, for Marquette to concentrate on the midwest geographically and hit those markets hard.  It is difficult for Marquette to be a player out east or west in today's era of highly personalized recruitment.  This isn't the 1980s with mass recruitments lead primarily through mail and sending some volunteer to a high school.  You really need to be IN those markets.  I believe that Marquette has multiple recruiters based right in Chicago.

[Billy Hoyle]

It is much more cost effective, and I mean MUCH more cost effective, for Marquette to concentrate on the midwest geographically and hit those markets hard.  It is difficult for Marquette to be a player out east or west in today's era of highly personalized recruitment.  This isn't the 1980s with mass recruitments lead primarily through mail and sending some volunteer to a high school.  You really need to be IN those markets.  I believe that Marquette has multiple recruiters based right in Chicago.

It would make sense to recruit hard within the Big East footprint. I also remember discussion that one of the reasons for creating the LAX program was to draw more from the East Coast.

One way to recruit nationally is to offer higher scholarships from underrepresented areas. My wife's cousin works in admissions at Villanova and they will give a higher academic scholarship to someone from a state they don't get many students from (e.g. Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming) than someone with the same academic credentials from an area from which they have strong representation already. MU could do that (if they aren't already).

[Cheeks]

It would make sense to recruit hard within the Big East footprint. I also remember discussion that one of the reasons for creating the LAX program was to draw more from the East Coast.

One way to recruit nationally is to offer higher scholarships from underrepresented areas. My wife's cousin works in admissions at Villanova and they will give a higher academic scholarship to someone from a state they don't get many students from (e.g. Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming) than someone with the same academic credentials from an area from which they have strong representation already. MU could do that (if they aren't already).

Create men's volleyball (no program in Wisconsin) and recruit west coast kids.

[PorkysButthole]

It is much more cost effective, and I mean MUCH more cost effective, for Marquette to concentrate on the midwest geographically and hit those markets hard.  It is difficult for Marquette to be a player out east or west in today's era of highly personalized recruitment.  This isn't the 1980s with mass recruitments lead primarily through mail and sending some volunteer to a high school.  You really need to be IN those markets.  I believe that Marquette has multiple recruiters based right in Chicago.

I understand and don’t entirely disagree from an efficiency standpoint but it’s extremely frustrating to me how many folks from the NYC metro area go to UW Mad ever year.  My high school alma mater sends 3-5 students there EVERY YEAR and Since 1988 only 2 people have gone to MU from that same school.  I was one of the 2.  Is it not a fair comparison due to size difference?   How is it that UW Mad is more popular and desirable than UCONN???

[Litehouse]

I understand and don’t entirely disagree from an efficiency standpoint but it’s extremely frustrating to me how many folks from the NYC metro area go to UW Mad ever year.  My high school alma mater sends 3-5 students there EVERY YEAR and Since 1988 only 2 people have gone to MU from that same school.  I was one of the 2.  Is it not a fair comparison due to size difference?   How is it that UW Mad is more popular and desirable than UCONN???

Plenty of coasties in Madison.  Some kids just want the big stereotypical college experience you get at places like Big 10 or SEC schools.  UConn doesn't have the same football Saturday experience that appeals to some kids.  Others just want to get away from home.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

If you play around with their student dashboard here...

https://www.marquette.edu/oira/fresh-dash.shtml

...you'll see that the percentage of students from the east has hardly changed in 15 years.  Prior to 2005, they don't have data in the dashboard, but I wonder really how much it has changed in the last 40-50 years.  I doubt significantly.

[warriorchick]

Fair enough, and the issues you raise with regard to grants/scholarships are real, but the broader point I'm trying to make is that being in CT, it's extremely unlikely Marquette would have been on either of your daughters' lists if you didn't go there.  What I'm saying is, that MU needs to be on a lot more students' lists from a much wider geographic footprint, regardless of whether one or both of their parents went there or have other family ties to the Midwest or WI specifically.

No one cares about geography in regards to diversity.  Sure it's good to be able to recruit nationwide, but that's not what colleges mean when they talk about wanting to be more diverse.  Marquette doesn't want to be a school full of nothing but upper-middle class white kids.  Being from New Jersey is not going to move the needle one centimeter in terms of diversity goals.

Everything else being equal, they are going to accept a kid from Bronzeville in Milwaukee way before they accept a kid from Chestnut Hill in Massachusetts

[jsglow]

If you play around with their student dashboard here...

https://www.marquette.edu/oira/fresh-dash.shtml

...you'll see that the percentage of students from the east has hardly changed in 15 years.  Prior to 2005, they don't have data in the dashboard, but I wonder really how much it has changed in the last 40-50 years.  I doubt significantly.

Not very much to the best of my knowledge.  Way more targeting out west nowadays.  Population growth and fewer similar institutions to pass by on the way.  Sure MU likes getting east coast kids when then can.  But places like Cali have become pretty big target markets.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

I understand and don’t entirely disagree from an efficiency standpoint but it’s extremely frustrating to me how many folks from the NYC metro area go to UW Mad ever year.  My high school alma mater sends 3-5 students there EVERY YEAR and Since 1988 only 2 people have gone to MU from that same school.  I was one of the 2.  Is it not a fair comparison due to size difference?   How is it that UW Mad is more popular and desirable than UCONN???

Porky isnt really making a good argument to recruit more kids from porky's high school, especially based on some of porky's prior posts.  ZFB feels that ZFB's alma mater can do better.

[PorkysButthole]

Porky isnt really making a good argument to recruit more kids from porky's high school, especially based on some of porky's prior posts.  ZFB feels that ZFB's alma mater can do better.

Not saying MU should invest tons of resources in recruiting in the NE as the ROI wouldn’t be worth it but they could do more than they are in terms of alumni engagement with regard to recruiting.   Everyone in MKE seems to think that they can’t compete and there are so many more schools to choose from there blah blah blah.  All of that is true but people in that region are not unwilling to travel anywhere.  Forget about UW Mad, even Beloit is more popular than MU out here for god’s sake and that’s just downright disappointing.   The other day I saw a car with a Fairfield Prep sticker on it which is a local Jesuit high school affiliated with Fairfield University.   The two colleges stickers in addition to Fairfield Prep were Nebraska and you guessed it......UW Madison.  This is a Jesuit high school in CT!   All it takes is for one student to matriculate, have a positive experience and word of mouth generally  takes over, but despite hoops and LAX relevancy in the BE no less, they can’t seem to make any inroads here and it’s frustrating.