The economy’s downward spiral has not only affected aspects such as buying or selling a house and buying cars but also the enrollment process at UNC Charlotte. The university currently has 700 students on the deferred list. Earlier this year, the list rose to 800, making it the largest list that Tina McEntire, Director of Undergraduate Admissions, has seen in her 14 years at the university.
McEntire used this past weekend to reexamine the applications and plans to take between 150 to 175 people off the list. She hinted at the possibility of accepting up to 200, but stressed no more than that. When processing and narrowing down the list, McEntire looks to see if students took a rigorous schedule their senior year and improved their test scores.
In the past, admissions were able to admit some students in the spring but are unable to this year with an already larger spring class. Students on the list are expected to receive a final decision by March 15.
To clarify, students on the deferred list indicates that they are on the border line and have the opportunity to retake the SAT and ACT’s. Although, since the college is trying to decrease the freshman class, as well as the number of transfer students and graduates, the deferred list is essentially the same as a wait list in that the university cannot accept that many applicants.
Last year, the university welcomed 3,170 students to the freshman class. They are currently working to bring that number down to 3,090 for next year. McEntire said it’s important to slow down the growth a little “so that (students) don’t walk into a classroom with 400 students.”
While McEntire does not believe the slow down in growth will last forever, as the economy improves and the school is granted more money, it will however, grow at a slower rate over the next few years.
The new slow down in growth will affect the university’s master plan of having 35,000 students by 2020. The number was formed when the school was growing at a four to five percent rate each year. With a lack of funding, which affects hiring more staff and constructing more buildings, concern is higher than ever. They are looking at how the university can hold any more students and do that in a timely manner so that the students who currently here can have a good experience.
McEntire, who started deferring students at the end of November, keeps in mind that UNC Charlotte is an institution that wants to give people a chance.
“I never approach it (with) a gate keeper mentality,” said McEntire. She added, “I approach it as a ‘let me see if I can admit this student.’”
Since the university has denied more students this year than previous years, the phones in the admissions office have been ringing more than ever. McEntire tells the concerned parents and students that “a no today at UNC Charlotte does not mean a no tomorrow, or a no a year from now.”
For these students, they try to turn a no into a plan. Whether that means taking classes at a community college and transferring later or retaking the SAT and/or ACT, students can still make it into UNC Charlotte. With more applications received this year as opposed to last year, the process is just becoming tougher.
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