Richmond accepts lowest number of first-year students in five years

For the first time since 2010, University of Richmond offered undergraduate admission to fewer than 3,000 potential first-year students.

According to the IFX Official Census Admissions Files, the university has accepted more than 3,000 students every year since 2010. University of Richmond's Office of Admissions admitted 2,952 students this year, giving the university a 29.5 percent admit rate, a rate lower than any of the previous five years of admissions.  The admit rate will not be considered final until August.

There are only 800 spots in the freshman class, Gil Villanueva, the dean of admissions said.

“We only have 800 spaces, not 801, not 802, so at some point given trends, the modeling that we do here, it really calls for us to offer [admission to] 2,952 lucky first year applicants.”

More than 800 first-year students enrolled in Richmond in the two previous years: 816 students enrolled for the Class of 2018 and 805 enrolled for the Class of 2017.

“We work hard to hit the number,” Villanueva said. “The target is 800. Not 802, not 816 but in the end: any admission dean in the country will tell you its better to be over than under…We realized a gain in our yield rate, so more students took our offer.”

This year, Richmond received more applications and accepted fewer students than it did last year. In 2014, 9,921 students applied with 3,155 students being accepted, giving the university a 32 percent acceptance rate, according to the Census Admissions File. 

Out of the current 816 freshmen, 428 of them are women. And with Lora Robins Court, a female freshman dorm housing 270 women and Moore, the other female freshmen dorm, housing 150 women, there has been a need for freshmen women to be housed in Robins Hall.

“We’ve had freshman women in Robins the last three years,” said Joan Lachowski, director of undergraduate student housing. “It’s become an extension of freshmen housing if we’ve needed it. We’ve needed it for every year and it looks like we’re going to need it for next year. That’s not unusual.”

With freshman women’s housing being extended to Robins and with the reconstruction of North Court, fewer beds will be available for housing next year. The 2,790 beds offered this year will reduce to 2,681 beds next year, Lachowski said.

Additional Notes

Of the 9,973 undergraduates who applied, Virginia held the number one spot for most applicants, followed by New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, California and Massachusetts, Villanueva said.

Of the 800 spots in the freshman class, the admissions department has a self-imposed limit of the amount of students being accepted in both rounds of early decision, Villanueva said. According to Villanueva, the admissions office prefers to fill about 40-42 percent of the class during those ED periods.

With a decreased admittance rate, the university has become more competitive than ever, as applications have steadily increased over the past six years, according to Villanueva. Because of this increase in applications, there became a need for a larger admissions building. The Queally Center for Admissions and Career Services, which is currently being constructed, will house the admissions office, the financial aid office, career services, the bursar and the registrar. The Queally Center is set to be completed by summer 2016.

Contact News Editor Lindsay Schneider at lindsay.schneider@richmond.edu