Due to an unusually low number of applicants for Fall 2003 study away programs, the International Center has pushed back the usual February application deadline until March 15.

Study Abroad Coordinator Katherine Yngve said that the extension may provide an opportunity to appease fears concerning safety overseas.

According to Provost Dan Hornbach, over 100 students applied to study abroad for Fall 2002, yet only 67 applications were received by the initial deadline of Feb. 15 this semester. He pointed out that more students generally go away in the spring.

Hornbach is confident that fears about terrorism and the threat of war are a factor. "We do suspect that this is an anomaly due to concerns about global security," he said, adding that the extension will not be a permanent one. "We do not expect this extended application deadline to be permanent, for it too causes some logistical problems with our review process, students' ability to compete for high-demand programs, and to prepare well in advance of participation."

According to Yngve, students do not find out whether or not they have been approved until one month after the deadline — often after they have been notified of their acceptance by the program they have applied to.

While she does suspect that such concerns are being felt, Yngve points out that after 9/11 the number of students going away increased at Macalester, even as the rate dropped nationally. "This sophomore class entered while that was going on" she added. "They may be more sensitive than last year's class."

Yngve said that, even in the event of war, the only programs to be cancelled will be those in countries that have State Department warnings. She said that programs in Jordan have been cancelled for such reasons, but that students have applied and will most likely be approved to travel to Egypt and Morocco in the fall.

"Programs are still going to go, and there will be more attention to security," she said. "These providers are unbelievably good at getting students out of the way of trouble. I really have a lot of confidence in them."

In terms of Macalester's responsibility, Yngve has completed an extensive document that outlines the school's reaction to an emergency abroad. "It's mostly a matter of who gets the call, and what we do with it," she said, adding that Campus Security would quickly be involved. "We're trying to look at what we would do if something happens to a group of students overseas."

Dean of Students Laurie Hamre is not certain that fears about terrorism or war are necessarily prevalent and suggested that it "is harder for students to get organized to apply for second semester" because of how soon the deadline comes up after people return from J-term.

Although slightly more students usually go in the spring, Macalester only approves 216 students to study away in a given year. By virtue of this cap intrinsically having to be enforced in the spring, Yngve explains, second semester is always more competitive. The lower number of fall applicants, she fears, may indicate an exceptionally high number of students that will apply in the spring — especially considering the large size of this year's sophomore class, which exceeds the average class size by 40.

According to Hamre, the trend of imbalance is something the school has tried to correct. "We've asked Katherine to do a push to make it a little more even," she said. "If we could have more people in the fall there would be fewer students turned away for housing." Availability of classes is another issue that comes up with fewer students leaving campus in the fall, she said, as well as the risk of distorting the faculty-student ratio, which is calculated during the fall semester.

Yngve said that she hoped the extension would give more students the opportunity to study abroad, but that she did not want to pressure students who didn't plan on going overseas. "Is it right to encourage students to study abroad when they have legitimate concerns?" she asked, presenting a question she has been struggling with herself.

"Even if there is a war, study abroad is still going on," she said. "I would say it's even more important now than it has been in the past."