The yield for students who attend Dimensions, the College's accepted students weekend, has been steadily declining over the past seven years, Maria Laskaris, Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid, said. She did not attribute the decrease specifically to the Dimensions show, but said that the Admissions Office needs to consider a multitude of possible contributing factors.
"I do look at our Dimensions program and think we're not giving the academics portion enough emphasis," she said. "The program is not as in balance as it should be."
During the Dimensions show, current students dress in flair and sing popular songs with the lyrics changed to be about the College.
Problems with the Dimensions show include acoustics, sound amplification, crowd control and other logistical issues in Leede Arena, Laskaris said. She emphasized that the show is not canceled, but will likely be a series of smaller performances in the five freshman residential clusters as part of the welcome events.
Hopkins Center publicity coordinator Rebecca Bailey confirmed that admissions was in contact to reserve space other than the Leede Arena.
While Spaulding Auditorium is currently reserved for a visiting performance group in April during Dimensions weekend, Bailey said those plans could change.
Ashton Slatev '15, director of this year's Dimensions show, said he was frustrated by what he felt was a lack of student input in the decision. Students involved with the show were initially encouraged to brainstorm ideas but were later unable to share their opinions.
"I walked into the second meeting ready with ideas that I was proud of and ready to share, but when I got there I was told that they had already made the decision to completely change the show," Slatev said.
Students working on the Dimensions show had agreed that Leede was a poor location, but venue issues had not been cited by the Admissions Office as a reason to change the show, Slatev said.
"It is a bit fishy that this entire time they've expressed that the show is not academic enough, but now apparently it's a venue issue and they say that if we can find a venue then they'll support it," Slatev said. "It makes me wonder if this is just a facade to qualm the student backlash, or if this is an actual change and they're going to give us back creative control in a location that's better than Leede, and certainly better than five different resident halls."
Dimensions programming may also increase the focus on academics and showcase Dartmouth students and professors, Laskaris said. She said prospective students repeatedly express interest in sitting in on classes, but professors often reject visiting students.
"We are highly regarded for the quality of teaching, so they need to see that," Laskaris said. "We need to add in other academic programs so that students can get a taste for what the classroom is like, and that involves allowing students to share enthusiasm for the work that they are doing."
Because the College's regular decision yield is slipping, the Admissions Office needs to rethink recruiting methods beyond Dimensions, including the campus visit, tour guide programs and literature that is distributed to students, Laskaris said.
Tour guide Reed Wommack '14 said that beginning this term, tour guides stopped leading prospective students through Webster Avenue.
Laskaris said the Admissions Office is considering change to the tour route to accommodate an expanding campus.
"At the north end we have an amazing new life sciences center, and at the south end we have the new visual arts center, so we need to figure out how to display our two newest facilities," Laskaris said.
Sebastian DeLuca '14, a current tour guide, said that the present tour routes do not include the Class of 1978 Life Sciences Center and the Black Family Visual Arts Center, but reference is made to them throughout the tours.
Laskaris said that tours should include the life sciences center because many prospective students are considering careers in medicine. She said the info sessions and campus tours need to function together as a unit to present those academic opportunities to prospective students.
"When most families ask questions about student life, they are nervous about the Greek system," Laskaris said. "We certainly talk about the fact that we have fraternities and sororities, but also try to talk about the range of student opportunities and activities and do not need to be at the physical location to showcase what our students are doing."
A tour guide, who wished to remain anonymous to avoid compromising his position, postulated that the Admissions Office decided it no longer wanted to highlight the Greek social scene and asked tour guides not to go out of their way to share what percentage of the student body is affiliated with Greek life.
"Morally, can the Admissions Office really discount the prevalence of the pervasive Greek scene?" he asked.
The College will unveil a new financial aid website in the coming weeks that will make policies more transparent and easier for prospective students and families to understand, Laskaris said.
"We're taking a very different approach to our marketing and know that just using the word affordability is not enough," Laskaris said. "We're not sure the message is getting through to the types of students we need to reach."
The effect of the hazing allegations published last year in Rolling Stone is not yet clear, Laskaris said. Though the drop in applicant numbers is not normal, Laskaris said she is not concerned.
Despite the decrease in applications for the Class of 2017, students' average SAT scores were slightly higher than averages for the Class of 2016. Additionally, the Class of 2017 applicant pool is the most diverse in terms of race, ethnicity and socioeconomic status.
Laskaris said that these changes should not be termed rebranding, but rather a celebration of what Dartmouth has always been.
