Listen Here
By: Charlotte Smith
Email: smithc17@findlay.edu
This year’s Freshman class is one of the largest that the University of Findlay has seen. Students have come from all over to attend UF, not only from the United States, but also from around the world.
Chris Harris, Director of Admissions, speaks about the increase in class size this year.
“We had the largest freshman class in 2015, we had 715 students that year,” says Harris. “This class is bigger for sure.”
Students are no longer accepted based on their ACT scores and GPA. “We are not recruiting freshman anymore, we’re recruiting graduates,” states Harris.
“We accepted more students than we ever have before because we had more qualified students this year,” says Harris. “However, we’ve also denied the most students this year than I think we have ever before.”
So, how does a potential student become an Oiler? When first applying to UF, the first step is to schedule a visit with the Admissions Office. Oiler Ambassadors, students who work in the Admissions Office, will give tours to these visiting prospective students.
Sara Tomko, an Oiler Ambassador, states, “Arranging tours is like a whole Admissions Office thing. We have a ton of counselors and directors and, depending on what the students major is and the certain appointments that they asked for, they try to pair up a tour guide with a student with the same major.”
Harris explains that when applying to the University, a staff member from the Admissions Office, the Director of Academic Advising, and a faculty member make up a Catalog that sets parameters for who is admitted to the University.
“The catalog says that you have to have a minimum of a 2.5 GPA and an average score of 20 on your ACT for regular admission to the University,” says Harris.
Pharmacy and other direct admit programs have different parameters. Therefore, a potential pharmacy student might be accepted into the University, but not be accepted into the Pharmacy program.
With the increase of the freshman class size, questions about what UF is doing to encourage this have surfaced. With so many different programs, student activity groups, sports, and diverse population, Tomoko believes the growth of the University is playing a role.
“Honestly, I think that more people are finding out about Findlay, especially with the new business building. That has been huge for the University,” says Tomoko.
However, Harris offers a different view on the increase in admitted freshman.
“The work done by the faculty is amazing. With the change in job climate, careers such as PT, OT, Nursing, and other health professions have become very popular. The University has adapted and changed and it is able to keep up with the concerns of today’s graduates.”
Harris also mentioned that the transparency of the admissions office is something that impresses a lot of parents. “We’ll tell them up front how much it is going to cost, and that’s refreshing.”
Overall, each student comes to UF with a different purpose in mind. “Students may find us because of a major, but you’ll stay because of how you feel when you are here,” Harris states.
