Although some Mid-Atlantic universities needed to enroll students from their waitlists because of low freshman turnout, AU was not one of these schools, according to the AU Office of Admissions.
The recession meant fewer students who submitted deposit checks to universities -- including University of Maryland and Virginia Tech -- attended the university this fall, the Washington Post reported. The gap in enrollment forced these universities to pull in students from the waitlist.
However, AU did not need to rely on its waitlist because the university met its enrollment target of 1,500 freshmen, according to Greg Grauman, acting director of admissions.
AU worked to convert enrollment deposits into actual enrollments by communicating frequently with the class of 2013 over the summer, The Eagle reported. AU received a total 1,639 freshman enrollment deposits last spring. Out of that number, 1,538 freshmen are now attending the university, according to Grauman.
The university's admissions offices used a waitlist in both 2008 and 2009, but did not admit students from the list either year, according to Grauman.
New measures like a $60 online application fee and improved recruiting tactics helped AU meet its goal, according to the Office of Enrollment.
"American University did not need to go to its waitlist after the May 1 Candidate's Reply Date as the University had met its enrollment target by this date," Grauman wrote in an e-mail.
In comparison, Virginia Tech admitted 309 students from its waitlist this year and University of Maryland took 10 freshmen from its waitlist, according to the Post. Virginia Tech has 30,000 students enrolled and University of Maryland has about 37,000 students.
You can reach this staff writer at klitvin@theeagleonline.com.
