Central Washington University is receiving 21 percent more incoming freshmen next year, as compared to the usual amount.

“We are projecting an estimated 1,850 to 1,900 incoming freshmen for the 2016-2017 school year,” said Richard DeShields, associate dean of student living.

According to DeShields, conference buildings such as Green Hall and Carmody Hall are going to be vacated in order to house the overflow  of freshmen.

DeShields went on to say that “Barto Hall might also be used if there are enough freshmen to fill up Green and Carmody. The building was built with additional bed space.”

Conference buildings, which are usually used for a variety of different housing opportunities, such as summer camps, lodging for parents, etc., will be used for additional space for freshmen, and they will cost about the same as Al-Monty.

But why do we have such an influx of freshmen?

“After we used a new strategic recruitment plan, and conducted various surveys, we came to the understanding that incoming freshmen are looking for three major things in a school: cost, the ability to receive the major that the want, and always having something to do, like going to an event,” said Richard Moreno, director of research and content management.

Maybe you’ve noticed that CWU has altered the main page of the website recently. The site was changed to satisfy the three major things that are looked for in a school.

Moreno also mentioned that “we’ve had a lot of positive rankings. The Economist ranked us as the number one college for ‘More Bang For Buck.’”

“Central is surrounded by wilderness hikes, sports events, there’s the gorge nearby, the weather is diverse, the school is diverse. I could keep going, but the point is Ellensburg is an appealing place for students,” Moreno said.