An admissions officer for the UW-Madison says thereâ??s an unusual trend developing among this yearâ??s applicants which may be tied to the nationâ??s struggling economy.
Tom Reason is the associate director of admissions at the U-W Madison. He says currently, his office has received nearly 18,000 applications from students wrapping up high school. Thatâ??s on par with last yearâ??s rate. However, he says in-state applicant numbers are down significantly while out of state applicant numbers are up significantly.
â??Thatâ??s particularly unusual,â? says Reason.
Reason says the increase in out-of-state applicants is roughly 10-percent, with a nearly identical decrease from Wisconsin applicants. He says other Big 10 Conference schools are reporting the same disparity in their applicant pools. (Second item.)