Officials: ‘momentum’ drives increase in 2015 applications

A record number of students attended the Open House Nov. 8.

During the past two years, applications to Temple have greatly increased as the university looks to expand its brand through advertising, athletics and other sources.

As of Nov. 11, the 28,800 applications received is up 12.5 percent from 2014, and 54 percent from 2013, Director of Admissions Karin Mormando said.

The new statistics come a year after the admissions office launched the Temple Option, which allows students to send short answer responses in the place of standardized test scores. So far this year, the amount of students applying with the Temple Option is up 7.5 percent compared to 2014, Mormando said.

“Temple’s been in the news a lot for a lot of good things,” she added. “For athletics, for changes in rankings—a lot of talk of this ‘momentum’ and that is certainly something that will benefit [admissions] in the long run.”

Along with the number of applications, 6,000 prospective students attended Temple’s Open House to learn more about the university—a new record, said Senior Associate Director of Student Services Dr. Niki Mendrinos.

Students from around the country attended Temple’s Open House Nov. 8, and additional prospective students have been attending information sessions in the Tech Center’s Welcome Center.

Nathan Kudlapur has applied to Temple and attended an information session last week.

“I was very drawn to the support they have for applying to medical school and Temple having their own medical school and just all of the facilities and opportunities they have here,” said Kudlapur, a senior from Logan High School in Logan, Ohio. “I had already applied before all [the football press], but that just improved my opinion.”

Griffin Hanson, a junior at Dover High School in Dover, New Hampshire who will not be applying to Temple in this application cycle, visited Temple for an information session last week.

“I really like the sports teams here, and during a college fair one of the admissions guys really hooked my eyes on how great Temple is, so I just wanted to come and check it out,” Hanson said.

Callie Dydo, a junior at Lancaster Area High School, said she came to visit the university because of the positive experiences family and friends have had at Temple.

Although November is still early in the application cycle, Mormando said the profile of the incoming class looks strong.

“It’s a very exciting time for Temple,” Mormando said. “When we talk about momentum, [admissions is] one of the definite beneficiaries of the academic success that we have or the athletics, it will definitely influence prospective students’ view of us.”

Applications close March 1, 2016.

Gillian McGoldrick can be reached at gillian.mcgoldrick@temple.edu or Twitter @gill_mcgoldrick.

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