As you have almost certainly seen by now, the number of tuition deposits received by the end of last week for next year’s incoming class had almost surpassed 740; well above the number we had cautiously hoped to reach at the beginning of this recruiting cycle. In the context of a shrinking population of high school graduates in the Midwest, this is a genuinely impressive feat.

So, for the last Delicious Ambiguity post of the year, I thought I’d share some numbers that spell out the enormity of this effort.

From June 1, 2016 through April 29, 2017, 3,123 prospective seniors (i.e., students who would start college in August, 2017) visited our campus. Averaged over that 47-week period, this works out to about 66 visits per week. Given the extended planning required to host any of the several Saturday admissions events, and given that prospective students visit campus even when classes aren’t in session or many of us might be enjoying a holiday week, it seems pretty clear that this office is running at a high clip all year long.

Moreover, the nature of recruiting students to a campus seems to have slowly shifted in recent decades so that relatively more time is required to recruit students after they have already been accepted for admission. This is where I found two numbers to be pretty astounding.

Between December 1, 2016 and April 29, 2017, the admissions counselors and student ambassadors sent 2,868 emails and made 6,145 phone calls to accepted applicants. That averages out to about 137 emails and about 293 phone calls per week. All of this communication happened on top of the multitude of in-person campus visits.

Moreover, all of this communication likely doesn’t include all of the emails and phone calls that faculty and coaches made to prospective students all year long.

So, at least for a few minutes this week, let’s lose the good ole Lutheran Midwestern reservedness and congratulate ourselves unabashedly for a job well done. In addition, I think that the admissions staff and the crew of student ambassadors deserve a giant shout out. Well done, y’all!

Make it a good day, everybody . . . and have a wonderful summer,

Mark