In its third admissions cycle, Northwestern University in Qatar continues to attract more students to form a class of 2014 significantly more diverse than its Evanston counterpart.

A few of the 15 countries represented within the class of 45 students include Tunisia, Egypt and Germany.

“On nearly every dimension, there has been improvement in quality from year to year,” NU-Q Dean John Margolis said. The University is “delighted” by student interest, he said.

The campus did well by all three admissions standards: application numbers, acceptance rate and matriculation percentage, said Mounir Ouanaimi, NU-Q director of admissions.

Applications increased 25 percent since last year, from 200 to 252, while the admittance level decreased to 29 percent from 31.5 percent. NU-Q admitted 73 students, 45 of whom have sent in deposits. That represents an increase in yield from 23.3 percent to 38.5 percent, according to NU-Q figures.

If the 45 students enroll, it will be the University’s largest class. Their target number of students is 40, Margolis said.

“The class size is agreed upon by the University and the Qatar Foundation,” he said, adding that “for the foreseeable future and certainly until we move into our building in 2013,” the target number will probably remain the same.

An element NU-Q doesn’t have control over in attracting students is financial aid.

The Qatar Foundation deals with aid packages for students of all American universities in Education City, Margolis said. The pool of 45 students who have submitted deposits may decrease because not all students have received their aid package, he said.

NU-Q faces uncertainty, as they can admit great students but aren’t a part of the financial aid process, Ouanaimi said.

“It does toss some anxiety on our part,” he said. “But so far this year, it’s promising.”

– Jessica Allen