Although the Office of Admissions has no definite numbers for incoming freshmen, Dean of Admissions Debbie Stieffel said that she is confident that Loyola will have a smaller but dedicated class.

“We’re sticking by our standards,” she said. “I feel good about the quality of this class. When I look at the quality, it mirrors that of last year’s class.”

Last year’s freshmen class of 991 was the largest – and best qualified – in Loyola’s history, according to Stieffel.

While the university would normally have a full class by now, Stieffel said that the storm pushed back admissions’ usual time frame.

“In past years, we’ve been able to stop seeking at this point,” she said, adding that by May 1, the department usually has a clear picture of who will be attending.

“It’s just kind of a different year for all of us … looking at this year versus last year is like comparing apples and oranges,” she said.

Last year, Loyola received more than 3,000 applications; this year that number is hovering around 2,800, and Stieffel predicts a class of 700.

She said that mail service in New Orleans has caused huge problems for the department.

“We normally get a large percentage of applications through business-reply mail, but when we got back to campus in November, there were only three bins of mail for us and no applications,” she said. “I also know that last week, we got five pieces of business-reply mail postmarked in October and November.”

Because mail in New Orleans is still unreliable months after the storm, admissions will launch a Web site for admitted students, “hopefully by the end of this week,” said Stieffel.

The Web site, which allows incoming or prospective students to fill out all necessary forms electronically, will also have aspects of an “online community” where students can fill out profiles, read blogs and chat with current students.

Most students applauded the decision to select a smaller class that’s up to Loyola’s standards in past years.

Michelle Clarke, a communications senior who is the outgoing Student Government Association president, said that Loyola made the right decision.

“I think that we pride ourselves on excellence, and when we lower our standards, we can’t pride ourselves on those same things,” she said, adding that if Loyola significantly lowered its standards, alumni might find their degrees carrying less weight.

Kirk Williams, communications sophomore, agreed that Loyola should keep its high standards and said he thinks students will use the Web site.

“The digital age is conquering all aspects of American life,” he said.

Others are concerned about large numbers of this year’s freshman class transferring away, often to the institutions where they spent the fall semester.

“Some found boyfriends or girlfriends at other schools; some just don’t feel like they fit in; some don’t like New Orleans,” said Maury Bernstein, communications freshman. “But they haven’t really experienced it – I think they’re judging it too quickly.”

Stieffel said that she doesn’t know how many students won’t return to Loyola after the summer, since the only way to get that number is to see how many students enroll in fall classes.

“If students are leaving, they just don’t always tell us … so we just have to figure it out,” she said.

A smaller student body may pose troubles for the Student Government Association’s budget allocation process, which depends on student fees – $40 for each full-time student, $20 for each part-timer.

Newly-elected SGA Vice President Bob Payne, a political science sophomore, said that he hopes to fund as many organizations and activities as possible, but there may be changes to the process.

“What I would guess is that, since there’s less money to go around, we’ll have to come up with new guidelines,” he said.

Kelly Brown can be reached at [email protected].