May 2, 2008

'Stealth Applicants' Are Changing the Admissions Equation

By ERIC HOOVER

Growing numbers of students who apply unexpectedly complicate colleges' plans

Jeff Rickey is a numbers guy. But three years ago, a colleague asked him about something he'd never counted: applicants who came out of nowhere.

The question intrigued Mr. Rickey, dean of admissions and financial aid at Earlham College, in Indiana. He found that 17 percent of the college's applicants that year had not called, taken a tour, or requested a viewbook — nothing.

Since

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