UVM has seen a significant increase in applicants in recent years and the administration has noticed.
UVM received 23,936 applications for fall 2014, which is up 9 percent from last year’s application rate, according to a University Communications release.
The University has had a restriction in tuition growth and therefore the acceptance rate has gone down, the release said.
“Naturally we become more attractive to students because we accept less. We’re a popular school to apply to but not as many people get in anymore,” Connor Daley, SGA president, said.
The University has been mentioned recently as a great place to go to school. The Huffington Post ranked UVM and Burlington as some of the top ten places to attend college.
The school was also featured in Atlantic magazine as a public Ivy League college.
The University’s variety of majors and minors is just one of the things that impresses prospective students, junior Tanner Faucett said.
“I believe they play a huge role as we’re able to attract students interested in such a variety of fields,” Faucett said.
This is important for students who are unsure of their majors, since they know that they would be able to change it without losing their general education credits, he said.
The range of student clubs and both club sports and intramural sports programs that occupy the University are another large source of appeal for students, according to Faucett.
The University is well known for its emphasis on a classic liberal arts education, while also having a top of the line business school, according to the UVM website.
The increase in applications for the upcoming fall semester is largely from students in states that are not usually a huge market for the University, according to University Communications.
States such as California, Washington, Texas and Florida increased their application rates. The application rate from North Carolina also increased by 141 percent, according to University Communications.
Another factor that has affected this rate percentage is an increase in international students applying to the University.
The rate of applications from first-year, non-U.S. students went up over 50 percent, from last year’s 386 applications to this year’s 602, according to University Communications.
“The heart of Burlington, which centers around Church Street Market Place, is a great place to walk around and browse the many shops and eateries,” first-year Hannah Schaefer said.
Located on Lake Champlain and a 45 minute drive from a variety of mountain ranges that offer discounted season passes for students, UVM couldn’t get much better, junior Kendall Sweeney said.
The city of Burlington itself is one of the top reasons that students want to come to school here, she said.
“How could you not want to be a part of a highly regarded school set in such a great location?” Sweeney said.
