If you’re reading this and you’re a UW-Eau Claire student, give yourself a pat on the back.

Standards for admission at Eau Claire have grown increasingly difficult over the past decade.

Interim Associate Director of Admissions Joey Bohl said an increasing number of applicants, combined with limitations in enrollment allowances make for a delicate balance.

“We can only take a certain number of students, so that increases our selectivity,” she said.

According to the 1994-95 University Catalogue, freshmen applying for Eau Claire must “rank in the upper half of their graduating class.” Those not meeting that requirement were examined by ACT or SAT scores, two national standardized tests.

Fast forward to the 2002-03 Catalogue and applicants presented a combination of rank and ACT or SAT scores. Applicants needed to rank in the top half of their class and earn an ACT score of 23 or a SAT score of 1090 or higher.

The 2003-04 Catalogue again combined rank and standardized scores. Students needed to graduate from high school in the top quarter of their class, and present an ACT score of 22 or a SAT score of 1050 or higher.

In every Catalogue year, there are established criteria for unranked students – they must have slightly higher standardized scores and in more recent years, a GPA of 3.25.

Chancellor Donald Mash was not surprised by the increasing difficulty of admission to Eau Claire.

“Very good students come here because it’s a great place and has a great reputation. We think in both the classroom and outside the classroom that this is as good as an undergraduate education as you can get,” he said.

Mash added the problem began in the mid-1980s when the UW System was forced to downsize because not enough money was available to educate every enrolled student.

About 11,300 students attended Eau Claire in 1986, Mash said. That number now lies at 10,500.

“(So) not only have we not grown – by design, by the way – we’ve shrunk,” he said.

Because the university is “filled to the gills in the fall,” but only about 91 percent full in the spring, a new option was created for the coming fall, Bohl said.

The program applies for students just missing admission, Mash said. For example, the student can take classes elsewhere during the fall semester and does not need to reapply for the spring semester.

Only about 15 students accepted the program from about 700 who were offered, Bohl said.

“If you get 4 or 5 percent (to confirm), you’re doing really well,” he said.

Mash said more selective admissions are, in some ways, a double-edge sword. A portion of potential students may not apply because of the reports that Eau Claire is getting more prestigious and they may feel they may not receive admittance.

On the other hand, students looking for increased prestige may apply as a result.

“It cuts both ways,” he said.