Hyperbole or No?

[MU82]

I was a sports-loving kid from Connecticut. Had Marquette played basketball in the mid-1970s like, say, Northern Illinois did, I'd have never heard of Marquette. I wouldn't have even thought to apply.

[We R Final Four]

Haha.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

I was a sports-loving kid from Connecticut. Had Marquette played basketball in the mid-1970s like, say, Northern Illinois did, I'd have never heard of Marquette. I wouldn't have even thought to apply.

Ditto, but change to 1980's.

[MUDPT]

If I remember correctly, the 02-03 Freshman class was huge. They attributed that to 9/11 and more students wanting to stay closer to the Midwest then going to the East Coast. Not saying the Final 4 had nothing to do with record applications, there were other world factors too.

[DoctorV]

Freshman during the 1973-74 school year/basketball season -- just in time for the final four & 1st national championship game. Coming from western New York state, I would not have considered or probably even heard of Marquette if not for Al McGuire & basketball. I picked the school because it had the academic program I wanted. But being able to see an exciting top-10, national title contending basketball team led by one of the most famous coaches in the country absolutely helped put Marquette over the few other similar universities I considered.

Awesome. I enrolled in 2003 and I thought being a freshman for that Final Four run was as good as it gets, but your time was true championship dominance.

Im from the sw suburbs of Chicago and chose Marquette because of the pre dental scholars program. However, when I was deciding between Marquette and University of Illinois I had some close friends that went to Richards HS rave to me about a kid named Dwayne Wade being at MU and how he was the real deal!

My immediate response was "he can't be as good as Alando Tucker!" Alando went to HS with me at Lockport and we were in some classes together- really great dude and an even better basketball player. As many know he went to Wisconsin and was B10 PoY, had a cup of tea in the NBA and more recently was in the news for making some brutal decisions over in Madison.

Alando was a classic big guard/sf that played the 4/5 at wisconsin and got really good at it, classic B10 beef ball, but he lost a lot of his guard skills because of it. What he wasn't though was Dwayne Wade.

When I found out that DWade was from Robbins and frequented my parents restaurant in nearby Posen I was thrilled. They were all such nice people, and he had Zaire at the time so it was very easy to pull for his success.

One March later I was a Dwyane Wade and Marquette Basketball fan for life.

[Shooter McGavin]

Reasons for decline in enrollment at Marquette, in my rank order of impact.  (Only my opinion)

1.  Demographics.  There are much less people enrolled in college now than there was pre-pandemic.  It is affecting enrollment everywhere.
2.  An intentional decision by MU to focus on the higher revenue majors.
3.  Cost.  This isn't as much of a factor as people think it is.
4.  Basketball.

Basketball is great when students are making their initial decisions on where to look because it is a wonderful marketing tool.  And it is no doubt helpful.  But after that, I don't think it is a great driver of where students ultimately choose to go to school.

Fluff,

I agree with all these.  With regard to number four,  I will be at the game tomorrow with at least three high school seniors that have been accepted at MU.  They would all be legacy so much of the marketing of Marquette was already done by the families but each of these girls have gotten into multiple good schools.  All are out of state.  A good time tomorrow win or lose can help tip the scales for someone who is 18 years old.  It's also an opportunity to show off downtown Milwaukee as well with a palpable pregame energy for a good MU team.

Obviously it's only one of many reasons you'd pick a school but it's a great marketing tool. Kids want to see some school spirit.  They will get that in abundance tomorrow.

[MU82]

Awesome. I enrolled in 2003 and I thought being a freshman for that Final Four run was as good as it gets, but your time was true championship dominance.

Im from the sw suburbs of Chicago and chose Marquette because of the pre dental scholars program. However, when I was deciding between Marquette and University of Illinois I had some close friends that went to Richards HS rave to me about a kid named Dwayne Wade being at MU and how he was the real deal!

My immediate response was "he can't be as good as Alando Tucker!" Alando went to HS with me at Lockport and we were in some classes together- really great dude and an even better basketball player. As many know he went to Wisconsin and was B10 PoY, had a cup of tea in the NBA and more recently was in the news for making some brutal decisions over in Madison.

Alando was a classic big guard/sf that played the 4/5 at wisconsin and got really good at it, classic B10 beef ball, but he lost a lot of his guard skills because of it. What he wasn't though was Dwayne Wade.

When I found out that DWade was from Robbins and frequented my parents restaurant in nearby Posen I was thrilled. They were all such nice people, and he had Zaire at the time so it was very easy to pull for his success.

One March later I was a Dwayne Wade and Marquette Basketball fan for life.

Great story, Dr. V!

[Jay Bee]

One March later I was a Dwayne Wade and Marquette Basketball fan for life.

Ummm....

[warriorchick]

If I remember correctly, the 02-03 Freshman class was huge. They attributed that to 9/11 and more students wanting to stay closer to the Midwest then going to the East Coast. Not saying the Final 4 had nothing to do with record applications, there were other world factors too.

Wouldn't that also mean that kids from outside the Midwest would also stay at home, making it essentially a wash?

[NCMUFan]

Reasons for decline in enrollment at Marquette, in my rank order of impact.  (Only my opinion)

1.  Demographics.  There are much less people enrolled in college now than there was pre-pandemic.  It is affecting enrollment everywhere.
2.  An intentional decision by MU to focus on the higher revenue majors.
3.  Cost.  This isn't as much of a factor as people think it is.
4.  Basketball.

Basketball is great when students are making their initial decisions on where to look because it is a wonderful marketing tool.  And it is no doubt helpful.  But after that, I don't think it is a great driver of where students ultimately choose to go to school.

What are Marquette's higher revenue majors currently?

[NCMUFan]

I grew up in Kenosha as well. It was a great thing for one big reason. There were always more girls than guys in the 18 year old bars (brat Stop, Earl's, Chaparral, etc.). For some reason, more girls came up from illinois that guys.

Occasionally head towards the I.  Usual hangout was Dannys across from AMC.
Not sure what Dannys has become since the 40+ years since being there.

[warriorchick]

What are Marquette's higher revenue majors currently?

I have that question as well.  I would think that Lib Arts would be the highest revenue majors given there are no expensive labs, supply of professors far outstripping the demand, etc, yet I see no focused effort to recruit those students.

[dgies9156]

I have that question as well.  I would think that Lib Arts would be the highest revenue majors given there are no expensive labs, supply of professors far outstripping the demand, etc, yet I see no focused effort to recruit those students.

I think that would make them the highest margin majors.

With the exception of a few programs, revenue for each major is about the same.

Back to Coach Shaka. The big thing about Coach Shaka is if he is successful, adapts to the game as it evolves and stays with us for the next 20 to 30 years, there is a decent chance we could be a blue blood again. That, in turn, will affect both prestige and contributions. And, eventually make a lot of us old timers begin to move-on from Al McGuire.

[Jockey]

Occasionally head towards the I.  Usual hangout was Dannys across from AMC.
Not sure what Dannys has become since the 40+ years since being there.

There were a couple years back in the late 70s where I hung out there a lot. Had a 2nd shift job at the time and we'd head over there after work.

[warriorchick]

I think that would make them the highest margin majors.

With the exception of a few programs, revenue for each major is about the same.

I was assuming margin was what Fluffy meant.  Most people know that gross revenue per undergrad student is about the same across all majors.

Perhaps the university was thinking long term and guessing that business, engineering, and biological science (what we used to call pre-med) majors will end up being wealthier and therefore, more generous donors?

[The Sultan]

I was assuming margin was what Fluffy meant.  Most people know that gross revenue per undergrad student is about the same across all majors.

Perhaps the university was thinking long term and guessing that business, engineering, and biological science (what we used to call pre-med) majors will end up being wealthier and therefore, more generous donors?

My guess, and this is only a guess, that engineering, business and perhaps nursing are higher margin majors from a net tuition perspective.  Sure it may cost less to educate a liberal arts major, but my guess is that price point to get those majors here is lower than they would be for majors where Marquette has a clear record of placing graduates in high paying positions.

[warriorchick]

My guess, and this is only a guess, that engineering, business and perhaps nursing are higher margin majors from a net tuition perspective.  Sure it may cost less to educate a liberal arts major, but my guess is that price point to get those majors here is lower than they would be for majors where Marquette has a clear record of placing graduates in high paying positions.

I still don't understand why that would cause a decrease in enrollment per your original post.

BTW, thanks to the hard work of the past two deans, the College of Nursing has doubled enrollment in the last decade, and it's still the toughest undergrad program to get accepted into.

[muwarrior69]

I was assuming margin was what Fluffy meant.  Most people know that gross revenue per undergrad student is about the same across all majors.

Perhaps the university was thinking long term and guessing that business, engineering, and biological science (what we used to call pre-med) majors will end up being wealthier and therefore, more generous donors?

They were considered Liberal Arts back in my day; though I believe MU distinguished the science major with a BS and the non-science major with a BA.

[warriorchick]

They were considered Liberal Arts back in my day; though I believe MU distinguished the science major with a BS and the non-science major with a BA.

This major is housed in the College of Health Sciences now.  Its majors typically go to Medical or Physician Assistant school.

It's typically the most popular major at MU.

[The Sultan]

I still don't understand why that would cause a decrease in enrollment per your original post.

BTW, thanks to the hard work of the past two deans, the College of Nursing has doubled enrollment in the last decade, and it's still the toughest undergrad program to get accepted into.

My guess is that Marquette feels it will be better off, considering long-term demographics, if they have less enrollment but higher net revenue per student.  So they aren't going to chase enrollment by increasing financial aid offers.  And that focusing on STEM plus business is the best way to get to that per student revenue goal.

If that is indeed their thinking, they would hardly be alone in that regard.  Might not be a bad strategy.

[dgies9156]

Perhaps the university was thinking long term and guessing that business, engineering, and biological science (what we used to call pre-med) majors will end up being wealthier and therefore, more generous donors?

Perhaps, but we Journalism majors have done our part!

[DoctorV]

Ummm....

Wow did it twice. Brain meltdown on full effect.

Need. Nap. Bad.

[warriorchick]

My guess is that Marquette feels it will be better off, considering long-term demographics, if they have less enrollment but higher net revenue per student.  So they aren't going to chase enrollment by increasing financial aid offers.  And that focusing on STEM plus business is the best way to get to that per student revenue goal.

If that is indeed their thinking, they would hardly be alone in that regard.  Might not be a bad strategy.

Actually, the last time I heard the director of admissions speak, the goal was to increase enrollment over the next decade.  There was a PowerPoint graph and everything.

That was probably 3 years ago, but I promise you that the current decrease was not intended or welcomed.

[Galway Eagle]

I still don't understand why that would cause a decrease in enrollment per your original post.

BTW, thanks to the hard work of the past two deans, the College of Nursing has doubled enrollment in the last decade, and it's still the toughest undergrad program to get accepted into.

Isn't the PT program the hardest to get into? It's something like top 5 in the country with only 70 spots a certain amount reserved for transfer students.

[BrewCity83]

They were considered Liberal Arts back in my day; though I believe MU distinguished the science major with a BS and the non-science major with a BA.

For the record my Biz Ad degree is a BS, not a BA.  Not sure if that's what you were referring to though.