Ron Wyatt was startled recently when one of his Eastern High School seniors he assumed would have no problem being admitted to Purdue University was instead put on a waiting list.

The Eastern High School guidance counselor said the student eventually was admitted, but “just barely,” and he is seeing more students concerned about gaining admission to their first-choice colleges.

With state cuts to university funding, some colleges are capping or cutting enrollment, while high school seniors are competing with more adults returning to school to make themselves more marketable in a tougher economy.

For some students, this could mean attending a second-choice school or regional campus.

Indiana University’s Kokomo campus has plenty of room for this year’s senior class, according to Jack Tharp, vice chancellor for student services.

“We have no capacity problems,” Tharp said. “Adult students are greatly reduced in number from years ago, so they are not taking seats from new high school graduates.”

He said most of IU Kokomo’s transfer students are in the 19- to 20-year-old range.

Christy Bozic, director of the Purdue College of Technology at Kokomo, sees the decreased availability at the school’s West Lafayette campus as a growth opportunity for the local campus.

“We’ve seen applications increase a little bit. This might prove a little beneficial for us here in Kokomo.”

She said while some programs are capping enrollment at West Lafayette, there is capacity for the same programs in Kokomo, for those who are qualified for Purdue enrollment.

“We’re trying to open up our campus to those students who may not even be from around here. We have capacity. We can take more students. Our professors and programs report up through the same academic deans. We have the same standards as West Lafayette and have room for those programs to grow.”

Donna Schaffhausen, dean of academic skills advancement at Ivy Tech Kokomo region, said the college is not turning anyone away at this point, but “what we are finding with our unprecedented enrollment growth is students who have waited until the last minute are less likely to get into the classes they preferred. Sometimes they take fewer credits than they hoped to enroll in. We are usually able to get them into some classes.”

She said campus officials have added more classes and raised enrollment caps on some classes.

Schaffhausen recommends students start the enrollment process early.

“The longer they wait, the harder it will be to get what they want,” she said.

At Eastern, Wyatt said students seem to be more worried about getting into Purdue, which has started alerting students online on certain dates if they have been admitted, rather than doing the rolling admissions process. With rolling admissions, counselors review each application and send an immediate response.

He said state schools are increasing the standards for admission at the main campuses, making it harder even for top students to get in.

Wyatt said he’s seeing more kids applying to more schools, to be sure they have someplace to go, or decide on a regional campus where they are more likely to be admitted.

“I always tell kids to apply three places, one you want and two others,” he said.

He is also noticing more students choosing IU Kokomo as a first choice, because it offers IU-quality programs at an affordable price, and they don’t have to pay for housing.

Wyatt said he is seeing more students enroll at Ivy Tech, where he is an adjunct faculty member teaching psychology, because of less expensive tuition.

At Northwestern High School, guidance director Carolyn Thompson is also noticing more students starting their college careers locally, to save money.

She added that many plan to go local and then transfer, but “as they get to IU Kokomo they find it to be a very viable campus. Where they may have planned to stay only a year or two, some of our students stay. They have the activities now, they have a mascot now. I think they’re appealing more to the students now directly out of high school. I do think kids who stay local are having a good education and a positive college experience.”

She also said more students have been concerned about being admitted to Purdue because of the change in admission procedures. For the Class of 2010, it was the first week in December before any applicants were notified if they had been admitted.

Thompson said waiting to admit students gives college officials a chance to see who is applying and be more selective in who attends.

She used to encourage students to apply to colleges by Thanksgiving, but now tells them by Halloween, because admission has become more competitive.

For those who are not admitted to their top choice, she hopes they’ve already had other ideas.

“We really try to encourage students to have several plans,” she said.

• Danielle Rush is the Kokomo Tribune education reporter. She can be reached at 765-454-8585 or danielle.rush@kokomotribune.com.