Denials at Fort Lewis this year were up 120 percent from 2007, as of May 2. Admission officials have so far denied 861 freshman applications, up from 391 in 2007.

College officials said tougher admission standards instituted this year and a rise in applications were responsible for the surge in denials.

"We have been more selective, making sure that we're selecting students or admitting students who we feel are ready to handle the rigors of a four-year institution," said Andrew Burns, director of admission.

The college raised its admission index - essentially a formula that takes into account a student's high school GPA and ACT score. The change has long been planned and was instituted beginning with admissions for this fall.

"We're turning away students who we would have otherwise admitted last year," said college spokesman Mitch Davis.

The college has also denied 19 percent more transfer applications this year, 213, up from 179 in 2007.

Increased applications have been another factor in the rise in denials. Applications were up 17 percent as of May 2. Fort Lewis had received 3,844 applications for fall admission, up from 3,283 at the same time last year.

Burns credited new efforts to recruit high school seniors. Admission staff members have been traveling throughout the state more than ever, which Burns said had led to increased interest.

Fort Lewis has been following a 30-page playbook that maps out a strategy to attract new students.

Two admission staff members are based in Denver, visiting 10 to 15 high schools a week. Burns said they were raising Fort Lewis' profile on the Front Range. Before, the college had little presence in the heavily populated Denver area, he said. "We were out of sight, out of mind on a daily basis," Burns said.

Fort Lewis also has begun new academic programs, most recently adventure education, marketing and athletic training, in another effort to attract students.

Demographics may be partly responsible for the rise in applications. The population of Americans ages 18 to 24 has risen steadily, from 27.3 million in 2000 to 29.5 million last year.

The number of high school graduates in the U.S. is expected to peak this year, according to a March report by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education.

Beginning in 2008-09, projections point to a gradual, downward trajectory for high school graduates nationally until around 2013-14, when the number will begin rising again, the commission reported.

But the West will still see growth averaging 5 percent from 2007-08 to 2021-22, the commission forecast.

That could prove a bright spot for Fort Lewis. With higher standards new this year, admissions to Fort Lewis were actually down slightly, from 1,844 in 2007 to 1,817 this year.

Amelia Yeager, director of institutional research at Fort Lewis, said the college does not yet have reliable projections for total fall enrollment. But she predicted it would be about even with last year. In fall 2007, Fort Lewis enrolled 3,935 students.

Burns agreed. "We're looking to be on par with last year, where it could have been worse," he said.

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