Admissions aims for Minnesota

Five of the past six incoming classes have included more students from Iowa’s northern neighbor than from within its own borders.

Over the past two years, Luther has brought in nearly 100 more Minnesotans than Iowans. Such students tend to come from affluent, suburban neighborhoods in a state whose median family income is more than $8,500 higher than Iowa’s, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

With large recruiting endeavors happening in the Twin Cities every year, some students from the Hawkeye State feel less prized.

“I have observed that there are more students at Luther from Minnesota than Iowa,” Dubuque native Drew Baumann (‘10) said. “It would make sense that Luther does heavier recruiting in Minnesota. Maybe that’s due to financial reasons.”

Luther officially denies favoring prospective students from one state over another, noting their policy of ‘need-blind recruiting.’

“[Need-blind recruiting] is the idea that the ability to pay is not taken into account during the recruitment and admittance of students,” Vice President for Enrollment Management Scot Shaeffer said. “We assess prospective students on their ability to be successful and graduate from Luther College.”

Luther’s geographic location and where its alumni settle are also at play when assessing Luther’s enrollment make-up.

“Most students attend college within approximately 150 miles of their home,” Admissions Counselor Sharon Rossing said. “If you draw a circle with a 150 miles radius from Decorah, the largest population area is the Twin Cities.”

Not only does Minnesota hold the region’s largest population area, it is also home to more Luther alumni than any other locale.

“80 percent of Luther’s graduates from the past 20 years currently live in Minnesota,” Shaeffer said.

Of that 80 percent, many live in the Twin Cities.

There may be other factors outside Luther’s control affecting enrollment rates of native Iowans. According to Professor of political science John Moeller, lowered institutional support from the Iowa government may be the reason for Luther’s apparent push for financial support.

“With Iowa cutting [state budget expenditures] ten percent across the board, without the Iowa Tuition Grant, you need to ask if Luther could make that money up,” Moeller said.

On Oct. 12, Iowan students receiving the grant got an e-mail from President Torgerson’s office asking them to write two handwritten letters to their state senators. The letters were to ask local senators to support the Iowa Tuition Grant which provides up to $4,000 dollars available to Iowa students attending a private college in their home state.

The e-mail said, “We have stationary and stamped envelopes in the President’s Office for your convenience, and coupons for a free Marty’s cookie!”

Some found the offer to be comical.

“The whole ‘write a letter and receive a cookie’ idea sounds pretty silly,” Moeller said. “But it’s a good thing for a state to support private institutions. Iowa wants its brightest to stay here.”

With Luther situated closer to Minnesota’s capitol than Iowa’s, it is difficult not to feel as if Luther’s campus is actually 15 miles north, just over the Minnesota border. While Iowa grads make up the minority at a school within their own state, Admissions claims when it comes to parent’s pocketbooks, they turn a blind eye.