Ivan Allen attracts incoming freshmen

Because of Tech's reputation as an engineering school, many students overlook its other aspects. The growth of the Ivan Allen College, in particular, is changing this attitude; the college experienced a 46% increase this year in its number of incoming freshmen. Undecided Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts ranked second among most popular majors.

Ingrid Hayes, director of Undergraduate Admissions, said that the increase has been largely due to the efforts of both the Ivan Allen College and the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.

Elizabeth Miller, Academic Advisor and Recruitment Coordinator for the Ivan Allen College, said that the college has been working on heavy recruitment for the last couple of years.

"Our results are evidence of our plans and hard work two years in the making," Miller said. "We strive to be innovative at looking at ways to increase student awareness and interest."

The two major goals of the college's recruiting plan are student participation and the use of technology.

"We are working to have a strong web presence," Miller said. "We have created a student-based site, students.iac.gatech.edu. In addition, we are currently designing a new component dedicated to prospective students complete with interactive maps and videos, which should be available in Fall 2005."

In Spring 2005, Ivan Allen College hosted its first ever Shadow Day, a student-run recruiting program where admitted students accompanied by current Ivan Allen students could attend classes and have lunch with professors. 95 percent of these admitted students chose to enroll.

"We take a vested interest in the potential student right after the first contact with him or her; we try to invite him or her to events like poetry events or international affairs conference. It's more than just sending out typical recruiting letter, it's more hands on." Miller said.

According to Miller, as a result of the efforts, in comparison to the previous year, there was a 45 percent increase in number of applications and a 63 percent increase in number enrolled out of all those admitted. In addition there was a 71 percent increase in out-of-state students from last year.

In response to rumors that the increase in liberal arts students corresponds with a relaxation of admission standards, Miller said that the average SAT scores among these students was very close to Tech's average SAT score for incoming freshmen.

"We promote that we are a liberal arts college with a twist, not just a regular liberal arts college; we include a technology and science component," she said.

"It makes students very marketable, and the prospect is very exciting to students and parents. It gives us a big edge," she said.

The Office of Undergraduate Admissions has also made efforts to recruit a more diverse class.

"We [at the Office of Undergraduate Admissions] have put forth much of our effort to make students aware of all that Tech has to offer. Because Tech has such a strong engineering program, there is a tendency for it to be associated solely with that-but through programs like Girl's Night Out, Preview Georgia Tech and FUTURES we try to show students the variety offered here at Tech," Hayes said.

Preview Georgia Tech is a one-day program during which students can take campus tours and learn about admissions information, campus life, scholarship information, and career opportunities. FUTURES and Girl's Night Out are programs targeted toward young women.

Besides the increase in liberal arts students, the incoming class is different from previous ones in other ways. It is the first class for which the Office of Undergraduate Admissions did not require students to turn in official transcripts until mid-summer. Students were required to self-report all grades on the application.

Hayes also reported an increase in the use of online applications; 73 percent of all applicants submitted an electronic application.

Many students are happy to see changes in admissions.

"I think the increase [in applicants choosing Ivan Allen College] is a good thing. Tech's following the example of other engineering schools like MIT and expanding beyond engineering," Sunny Jolly, a second-year Electrical Engineering student, said.

"I like the fact that you have more control in the admissions process and rely less on your scatter-brained high school counselor," Joanna Bayles, a fourth-year Chemistry major, said.

This is also the first year that Biomedical Engineering was offered as a major on the freshman application. Although the program is still in its infancy, it is the third-most popular major of the incoming class. The most popular is Undecided Engineering, which is up 24 percent from last year.