As Ball State admissions standards are rising, the quality of students the university brings in is rising as well.
The increasing standards have brought Ball State up to the point where it is able to compete for the best students with other Indiana schools like Indiana University and Purdue University, said Tom Taylor, vice president for enrollment, marketing and communications.
Last year, Ball State set a record for how many applications were submitted for the freshman class. They had over 18,000 applicants applying for about 3,600 spots.
“I’m biased, but I think Ball State is remarkable,” Taylor said. “But I think it’s taken a while for the rest of the world to know that.”
He said part of the university’s rising prominence was only partly because of the aggressive promotion they have been doing.
“Word of mouth is attracting those students also,” Taylor said. “If we get more and more bright and talented students coming to Ball State and having great experiences, that word gets back out to those in school behind them and that starts to attract even more students.”
The rise in popularity allows the university to be more selective when it comes to accepting applicants.
Ball State has a 60.6 percent acceptance rate, according to U.S. News & World Report. Purdue University has a 60.4 percent acceptance rate and Indiana University has a 72.2 acceptance rate.
Still, acceptance rates don't give the entire picture of a university's standards. Taylor said high school GPA indicates how incoming freshman are going to do at the university.
This year, the incoming freshman class had an average high school GPA of 3.45, while the freshman class of 2013 had one of 3.41.
Because of this increasing application pool, the admissions department reevaluates and increases their standards every year.
“I subscribe to the notion of rising tides lift all boats,” Taylor said. “I guess the sports metaphor is the star player can help other players play better and I think having strong talented students in the classroom rises the level of play.”
Munchel said since Indiana has so many strong options for higher education, there are plenty of opportunities for students to choose from.
“[Ball State] is able to provide world class facilities, world class faculty members as well as resources that you would find at large institutions, but we’re able to also provide a learning atmosphere that’s very personal,” Munchel said.
Pam Horne, associate vice provost for enrollment management and dean of admissions at Purdue University, said their only requirement is the set of courses a student takes in high school.
In high school, Purdue requires four years of college preparation math, three years of science, four years of English, two years of a foreign language and three years of social studies. They also require an essay and a counselor recommendation.
Ball State has the same English, science and social studies requirements. However, Ball State does not require the essay, recommendation or foreign language credit.
Horne said they have done research on how the rigor of courses students take in high school affect their college graduation rate.
Terry Knaus, senior associate director of recruitment at Indiana University, said they base their admissions on past enrollment management data.
“We base it on what we feel students should have to be successful at Indiana University,” Knaus said. “Bringing in better quality students certainly helps as far as the learning experience on campus and in classrooms goes.”
As a part of Ball State’s strategy to improve the university, the master plan has outlined goals to obtain better students.
One of the goals in the master plan is to increase the percentage of entering freshman with advanced standings, like AP credits, IB credits, dual credits and Ball State placement credit, to 60 percent. In 2011-2012, the baseline years, it was at 45.1 percent.
Taylor said while both Indiana University and Purdue University are strong institutions, they might not be fitting for everyone.
“Students who want a very traditional research university are still going to be drawn to the IUs and Purdues of the world,” he said. “Students who are interested in strong academic programs, but an academic culture that is very hands on and collaborative where students are interacting across disciplines, I think that’s the kind of student attracted to Ball State.”
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