USD Magazine, Summer 1999

A BUMPER CROP Record Applications, Limited Class Size Create Admissions Crunch

BY MICHAEL R. HASKINS

For almost as long as she can remember, Xoua Vang dreamed of becoming a University of San Diego student. The 17-year– old lives just a few miles up the road from campus. Her older sister attended school here, and Vang would hang on her every word when she described university life. Vang even mapped out her career - after earning a teaching certificate, she plans to return to her neighborhood elementary school and work in the classroom. Despite a 3.8 grade point average and a host of impres– sive credentials - including leader in her high school student body, historian for the community service-oriented California Scholarship Federation, volunteer for the Boys and Girls Club and member of the Future Educators organization, which awarded her a merit scholarship - Vang discovered her dream of attending USD was tough to realize.

"Some of my friends thought USD was a pretty easy school to get into, but I can tell them now that it was not very easy," says Vang. "I didn't score as well as I wanted to on my SATs, and I was asked to provide additional information and even talk about why attending USD was important to me." It's no surprise Vang faced stiff competition for a spot in the fall freshman class. Interest in USD has grown at an astounding rate in recent years, with inquiries from prospec– tive freshman and transfer students topping 77,000 per year and applications growing by about 10 percent annually to reach 7,200 this spring. The skyrocketing demand and limited class size means that almost half of those who apply won't be accepted. "It's safe to say that few schools have had the sustained development in admissions that has occurred here," says War-

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