After Auburn University experiences success in athletics, application rates tend to increase. Given the successful season experienced by Auburn's football team this past year, along with the hiring of new coaches in the athletic department, Auburn was bound to attract more aspiring students for fall 2014.
According to the Office of Admissions and Recruitment, the total number of students enrolled at Auburn this year has decreased from 24,864 to 24,469.
However, the number of enrolled freshmen has increased.
Although these freshmen make up a larger percentage of the undergraduate population, they maintain a similar presence on campus.
According to Bethany Gunn, student employee in the Burton Hall Housing Office, 70 percent of students living on campus are freshmen.
The influx of first-year students has pushed more freshmen off campus than ever before. There is a larger percentage of freshmen living off campus this year because Auburn does not have enough on-campus housing.
Gunn said the increase wasn't too much of a dilemma in the Housing office.
"We always have a waiting list and it was bigger this year," Gunn said. "It wasn't a huge problem. We were able to get most people moved on campus, but some just opted to live off campus, more than usual."
Some freshmen living off campus for their first year may find it harder to meet new people, a reason often given for living in the dorms.
However, participation in campus activities, such as Greek Life, has grown. Recruitment this year for the 17 on-campus sororities increased.
While a typical pledge class has approximately 60 girls, the average size of a pledge class this year was approximately 70.
Each girl going through recruitment is assigned to a small group led by a current sorority member known as a Pi Chi.
Lauren Jones, Pi Chi, said she had seen a lot more freshman girls rushing.
"There were around 200 more girls who went through Recruitment compared to last year, making the Pi Chi groups a little larger than usual," Jones said. "The pledge classes are also bigger than they normally are just because more people decided to go to Auburn this year."
Although more girls went through, the percentage of girls who were placed in a sorority remained the same.
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