Penn State is reporting the number of students who have put down a deposit to attend the school this fall is right in line with last year's figures, a sign that this fall's sexual abuse scandal has not affected prospective student's perspective of the school.
"I think it shows that people still see Penn State as the high quality educational institution that it is and they know that they're going to get a first class education here," said Annemarie Mountz, assistant director of public information for Penn State.
Mountz said that out-of-state students represent 24 percent of this year's accepted class who have put down deposits. As of this past Monday, 1,581 students have chosen Penn State, six more than last year by that day. 64,428 students applied to the university for the 2012-13 academic year. According to Mountz, that's up 2.6 percent over last year's record-setting figures.
The early numbers are promising, but it's too early to determine if Penn State enrollment will change in the aftermath of this fall's reputation hit.
"We don't have fall enrollment figures until October so we won't know total enrollment until next October for next year," Mountz said.
This school year's enrollment at University Park saw an increase of less than one percent, with 377 more students admitted.
Tuition for the 2011-12 school year was $15,984 for in-state students and $28,066 for out-of-state students. Currently 38,594 undergraduates are enrolled at University Park.
