By Peter Rice '05

More people are interested in attending Colorado College this fall than at any other time in history. As of mid-February, 4,123 students had mailed off their packets to the admission office, and a few latecomers were still trickling in.

More students applied Early Action as well — 1,056 — up from 575 just three years ago.
“There’s a very good and strong buzz about Colorado College,” says Mark Hatch, dean of admission and financial aid. “It’s seen as an excitingly different place.”

Why the sudden rise in interest? Chalk it up to a Herculean recruitment effort by the staff. They’re sending out more mailings, personally interviewing candidates, and racking up the frequent-flyer miles.

“We have gone to more cities and gone to the usual cities more often. We’ve been much more visible, much more present,” says Hatch. “You’ve got to hit ’em early and keep ’em interested,” he adds. “It’s very much an art and a science.”

But the workload doesn’t get easier now that the application deadline has passed. Now comes the quiet job of sifting through all the mail and making some tough decisions.
“We have to be a lot more choosy,” says Hatch. On the upside, “We can weed out those students who may have good numbers but might not be good fits. The downside is that we have to say ‘no’ to some students who are very capable.”

For this latest round of applications, admission also came up with a clever way of separating the sheep from the goats. Instead of writing a short essay on what prospective students hoped to learn and study, applicants had to design their own three-week
“intellectual adventure.”

“Not all the essays proved to be as scintillating as you might hope,” says Hatch. But with those that made the cut, he adds, it was easier to see who was unique and who really wanted to go to CC.

Since final decisions are still being made, we won’t know the exact makeup of the class for several months, although according to Hatch, “it’s a highly talented and diverse group.” Over eight percent of the pool are valedictorians.

The battle isn’t over yet. While the applicants have shown deep interest, admission will be sweating blood trying to close the deal, says Hatch of his staff. “The folks in the admission and financial aid office have worked incredibly hard. We’re going to have to work harder to get the class.”