Since 1990, the University has lost between nine and 16 percent of its freshman class every year - a higher rate than the nation's top liberal arts colleges. More students transfer from DePauw after their sophomore year than at other top colleges. And students not affiliated with the greek system are three times more likely to transfer than those who are members of fraternities or sororities. It's not an easy thing to do. There are no easy answers.
People like to boil things down to soundbites.
It's never that easy. It's worrisome for the University, though. The nation's top liberal arts schools usually retain 95 percent or more of their freshman students. Meanwhile, DePauw's Class of 2002 was 593 strong in the fall of 1998. The Class of 2002's freshman retention rate is the lowest of all classes during the last decade, according to the Office of Institutional Research.