Despite the economic situation, students are still applying to a myriad of universities. But fewer are applying here. The University is down 8.8 percent in freshman applications from last year, and Gary Swegan, the director of admissions, thinks the economy is part of the reason why. Nationally, one out of 10 jobs are in the auto industry, Swegan said. In Northwest Ohio, the percentage is much greater, so more local families could be in financially tight situations, he said. And those who have applied are taking longer to commit to a school. ‘I think the economy will make me, the director of admissions, much more nervous,’ Swegan said. ‘Students have slowed down their committment-making process.’ Even though fewer students have applied so far, Swegan thinks fall enrollment won’t change much. ‘We’ve made some positive changes to our [financial] aid policy,’ Swegan said. ‘We think we’ll be right around where we are.’ But while the University’s applications have dropped, other Ohio schools have experienced a jump. ‘We’ve actually seen a big increase in our applications this year,’ said Laurie Koehler, the director of admissions at Miami University. Miami’s goal is 3,500 new students enrolled in fall 2009, which is a slight increase from last year’s goal of 3,450 students. Koehler thought they would reach that goal. Koehler thought they might see a drop in out-of-state applications because more out-of-state students might opt to pay in-state tuition. But no matter where they applied from, she also said fewer students were committing earlier. ‘The families we’ve spoken to are waiting to compare financial aid,’ she said. Greg Guzman, the vice provost for enrollment management at the University, said this year the federal government is expecting a 10 percent increase in FAFSA. They expect more students to apply, and they expect more students to be eligible for aid because of the economic situation. But even though some schools’ applications have increased, some don’t believe the economy has much to do with it. ‘Honestly, I think that it’s not necessarily tied to the economy,’ said Tom Canepa, the associate vice president of admissions at the University of Cincinnati. Canepa said applications increased last year too, by 20 percent. But he thought it had more to do with Cincinnati as a university than the economic situation. Mabel Freeman, the assistant vice president of admissions for Ohio State University, said despite the economic issues, going to college is still a plan for many students. ‘There are still a lot of families who have saved for college and will follow through with their plan,’ Freeman said. Ohio State is down about 400 applications from last year, but Freeman said those applications are more from lower end students. She said those students are probably not willing to pay to apply to a school they may not get into. But transfer student applications increased since last year, and Freeman said she thought many students might be looking to trade more expensive schools for less pricey ones. But most officials agree it’s too soon to tell what impact the economy may have on enrollment rates. ‘This year is the biggest year for question marks,’ Freeman said. ‘These are new times. I wish we had a crystal ball.’