Academic Reputation Key Factor to Illinois Wesleyan Parents

BLOOMINGTON, Ill — A survey of parents of entering students shows that Illinois Wesleyan’s academic reputation was the most important factor in students’ decision to attend the University.

Almost 250 parents completed the survey administered during the Experience IWU 2002 program held on the campus in July. The one-day event is an orientation program for the parents of first-year students.

When asked to indicate the relative importance of various factors to the students’ decision to attend Illinois Wesleyan, 93 percent said that academic reputation was very important. Next in order of importance were student-faculty ratio (87%), campus facilities (73%), and size of the institution (72%).

During the process of selecting a college, the parents indicated that the campus visit was the most important part of the process followed by interaction with Illinois Wesleyan admissions representatives.

Almost three-quarters of the parents indicated that Illinois Wesleyan’s campus visit was better than most of the other visits that they had taken during the selection process.

On the subject of college rankings, 65% of the parents indicated that they consulted some form of rankings such as those in U.S. News & World Report during the admissions process, and 81% said that they as parents, gave more weight to the rankings than did their student.

Although many analysts predicted that the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, would have an impact on where students attended college, the parents in the Illinois Wesleyan survey did not indicate such an impact. Only seven percent of the respondents said that events of Sept. 11 had an effect on their student’s decision to attend Illinois Wesleyan.