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Between 2005 and 2008, the number of applications to the Medill School of Journalism increased by 34.5 percent. Applications to the School of Communication grew 23.6 percent during that same time.
But in 2009 both schools saw a reversal of the recent upswing in applications. Medill received 1,565 applications this year, compared to 1,628 in 2008, a 3.9 percent drop. The School of Communication suffered a 12.4 percent decline in applications, with 1,572 applicants in 2009, compared to 1,795 in 2008.
Overall applications increased by 0.7 percent this year, compared to a 14 percent increase from 2007 to 2008 and a 19.3 percent increase from 2006 to 2007.
For Associate Provost Michael Mills, the slowdown in applications is directly related to the current economic crisis.
“We view this year’s limited growth in applications as a major accomplishment, given the state of the economy,” he wrote in an e-mail.