One of Squamish's universities is beating out Ivy League schools as students scramble to enter its doors.
This coming school year, 260 new students will sit in Quest University's classes. Part of the institutions' success is ranked on their yield the number of students offered admission versus those who decide to attend. For the class of 2013, Quest's yield rate hit 65 per cent, 20 per cent above the rate officials anticipated.
It's exciting that from our strongest applicant pool ever, two-thirds of those offered admission decided to come to Quest, the university's president David Helfand stated in a press release.
The average Ivy League schools' yield rating sits at 58.9 per cent, with only Harvard exceeding Quest's value this year, the university's officials noted, adding the top U.S. liberal arts colleges had yields below 50 per cent.
The university's unexpectedly large student body is the right kind of problem to have, Helfand said. The large influx of pupils means the university will reach its maximum capacity of 650 students in 2014, two years ahead of schedule.
While the largest increase in numbers this year came from Canadian students, Quest continues to expand the diversity of its campus, Helfand said. Next year, more than 40 countries will be represented among the student body 55 per cent Canadian, 33 per cent U.S. and 12 per cent from outside of North America.
The university recruited 15 new faculty members to adhere to their policy of having no more than 20 students in their all-seminar-format classes.
Our alumni are excelling in leading graduate programs around the world and pursuing careers in professions ranging from commercial real estate to non-government organization management and environmental engineering, Helfand said.
Quest University opened its doors in September of 2007.
