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Cody Staker ’90 (wearing shorts) was the first of five Staker children to
attend Coe. Pictured here at a campus visit in 1986 are (left to right) Steve
Staker (now an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the Kohawk
football team), Lance Staker ’93 (then 15 years old), Shane Staker ’97
(11), Shannon Staker Cook ’02 (6), Cody (18) and Tyler Staker ’06 (2).
“I tell them all,” she said.
“That’s an immediate con-
nection. My whole family came
and found a niche. There’s
something for everyone here,
and that really resonates.”
The Staker story is especially
encouraging for first-gener-
ation college students, giving
their parents confidence that
their son or daughter is going
to be ok at Coe.
“The school just has a spirit
about it,” Cook said. “Every-
one who comes on campus
really feels that.”
Cook, whose territory includes
northeast Iowa and Illinois
outside of Chicago, also serves
as admission liaison to the
alumni and parent councils.
While she says Coe has some-
thing for everyone, it’s not the
right place for students who
want to get lost in the crowd.
“If you’re not wanting to make
waves, don’t come to Coe,”
she said. “I’m looking for
students who are ready to rise
to the challenge.”
With the work of the entire
admission staff, that message
is beginning to get out as Coe’s
recent freshmen classes have
In an office adorned with mementos
of her long family history at Coe, Assistant Director of Admission
Shannon Staker Cook ’02 visits with a prospective Coe student and his father.
Coe College Courier
showed gains in every important
indicator of academic success.
Coe registered 1,220 full-time
students for fall term, up from
the 1,182 full-time students
enrolled in 2006 and on pace
with the historically stable
enrollment at the college.
The academic profile of the
incoming class remained
strong, with an average ACT
score of 25.5 and grade point
average of 3.6
Among members of Coe’s
incoming class, nearly 10
percent ranked first or
second in their high school
graduating class. In addition,
30 percent of the first-year
class members ranked in the
top 10 percent of their high
school graduating class. An
impressive 51 of Coe’s first-
year students scored 30 or
greater on the ACT test or
the SAT equivalent.
Coe received a record 2,087
applications for admission for
the fall of 2007, the highest
number in the college’s history.
From this applicant pool, a
total of 397 students enrolled
at the college for the first time.
“The academic profile of each
of the last three entering classes
has established the college at
a new plateau of selectivity,”
said Coe President James
Phifer. “In addition, our
overall full-time student
numbers indicate historically
strong and stable enrollment.”
Alumni are encouraged to
help with the increasingly
competitive recruiting process
by referring promising high
school students to Coe. In
addition to direct referrals,
alumni can support the admis-
sion efforts by volunteering
or hosting receptions in their
homes.
For more information about
helping the Admission Office,
call (319) 399-8500 or e-mail
admission@coe.edu. To refer a
student online, visit www.coe.
edu/alumnidevelopment.
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www.coe.edu