St. Martin’s applications up

Applications for St. Martin’s University are up 25 percent over last year, according to college president Roy Heynderickx.  More than a thousand applications for fall quarter have come in and many of them have paid a deposit.

“The best place to be right now is in college, working towards your degree in two or three years,” the college president said.

Heynderickx told a meeting of the Lacey Chamber of Commerce that 54 percent of the student body at St. Martin’s is female and 26 percent are minorities.

Heynderickx broke out the information in even greater detail.  Some 28 percent are over age 25, 27 percent are from out-of-state and 83 percent need some form of financial aid.   The average amount is about $19,000 per student.

St. Martin’s appeals, Heynderickx said because of its low student to teacher ratio of 11-1.  And, the greatest number of degrees conferred recently was in the field of business.

St. Martin’s University has 200 employees and a budget of $30 million.  Heynderickx said that the overall impact on Thurston County was closer to $57 million and accounts for 571 additional jobs.