<p>Private Colleges Worry About a Dip in Enrollment </p>
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By TAMAR LEWIN
Published: December 21, 2008
First came the good news for St. Olaf College: early-decision applications were way up this year. </p>
<p>Now comes the bad news: the number of regular applications is way down, about 30 percent fewer than at this time last year. </p>
<p>“To be quite honest, I don’t know how we’ll end up,” said Derek Gueldenzoph, dean of admissions at the college, in Northfield, Minn. “By this time last year, we had three-quarters of all our applications. The deadline’s Jan. 15. If what we’ve got now is three-quarters of what we’re going to get, we’re in big trouble. But if this turns out to be only half, we’ll be fine.” </p>
<p>Not all private colleges are reporting fewer applications this year. Even in the Midwest and Pennsylvania, where most colleges seem to have dwindling numbers, some are getting more applications than ever. Still, in a survey of 371 private institutions released last week by the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, two-thirds said they were greatly concerned about preventing a decline in enrollment.
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