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Mar
19
2024

Antioch flooded with applications

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Since news of Antioch College’s decision to extend its full tuition scholarships to the next three incoming classes went viral on Friday, the revived college has been deluged with inquires and applications.

On Friday an article on CBS Moneywatch’s Web site on the revived college — “How to get a $106,000 college education for free” — was picked up by Yahoo! News and other outlets, leading to a swarm of visitors to Antioch’s Web site and a flood of online applications.  After receiving 200,000 unique visitors on Friday, Antioch’s Web site crashed and is still not operational.

“We have been overwhelmed with responses from students, parents and school counselors wanting to get more information on this opportunity,” said Cezar Mesquita, dean of admissions at Antioch. “It brings Antioch back into the national spotlight.”

Prospective students can still apply online or find out more at Antioch’s Facebook page.

As of Friday morning Antioch had 100 applications on hand for its next class of 75 students, who will start in the fall of 2012. The admissions department hoped to reach 180 applications by the Feb. 15 application deadline. But just 24 hours after the article was released, Antioch had received 1,000 applications through its online submission form. By the end of the weekend 2,000 applications were in hand, with another 5,000 in progress.

Even though Mesquita said the college was “unprepared for the level of response,” he said they will be replying to every e-mail and reviewing each application to find the most academically-prepared students with the right combination of grit and determination to thrive at Antioch.

Antioch announced earlier this month that it would extend its Horace Mann Scholarships, currently covering the four-year tuition for its first class of 34 students, for each of the next three incoming classes. The scholarship is valued at $26,500 per year. The decision was made so that the college could maintain high standards as it re-opens and was linked to a recent rise in the endowment, in part from increased fundraising dollars.

Read more in the Feb. 2 issue of the News.

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One Response to “Antioch flooded with applications”

  1. Chip Phillips says:

    Is there any possibility I could trade in my used but paid for diploma I got 22 years ago for a shiny new FREE one? I’m still paying $425 per month for student loans. $425 a month for just eight more years . . . or maybe ten. Wait, is that ANOTHER donation request in my mailbox? meh

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