admission or admissions

[Anonymous]

Dear teachers:

Why do you usually say 'admissions policy/office' instead of 'admission policy/office'?

Generally we do not use plural forms of noun in adjectival use. For instance, we say 'a flower garden(NOT a flowers garden)' or 'a shoe shop(NOT a shoes shop)', etc. Of course, I know we have to use plural forms when plural forms have different meanings form singular forms, such as 'arms race(NOT arm race)' or 'Chicago futures market (NOT future market)'.

What has puzzled me more is that while most colleges and universitites use the plural form, I found one university(www.princeton.edu) referring 'admission office'. Which is more natural and why?

Thank you so much!

[Rusty]

Hi Thirsty: I left this one for Pete to answer because I don't know any difference between admission and admissions (office). Both are used on various Internet sites. I think admissions office is more common.

[Anonymous]

Thank you so much, Rusty.

I've looked up the word in all dictionaries that I could reach, and found only one reference regarding this matter.

The New Oxford American Dictionary, Oxford University Press, 2001, p.21
"[as adj.] (admissions) the university admissions office."...
(admissions) the number of people entering a place: hospital admissions decreased nearly 65 percent.

Until I came up with the Princeton University homepage, I thought the plural form 'admissions' has different meaning from 'admission', say, 'concerning the administration of college entrance'. Now I think both ways are possible. Could you help me, Pete?

[Pete]

Thank you so much, Rusty.

I've looked up the word in all dictionaries that I could reach, and found only one reference regarding this matter.

The New Oxford American Dictionary, Oxford University Press, 2001, p.21
"[as adj.] (admissions) the university admissions office."...
(admissions) the number of people entering a place: hospital admissions decreased nearly 65 percent.

Until I came up with the Princeton University homepage, I thought the plural form 'admissions' has different meaning from 'admission', say, 'concerning the administration of college entrance'. Now I think both ways are possible. Could you help me, Pete?
I really don't think there is a difference in meaning here. I suspect that the plural usage came about in this case at schools where the official term is: "The Office of Admissions" (called that because they admit many students to the university). With that official name, the shortened form "Admissions Office" seems natural.

Certainly you are correct that in most situations, the singular form of a noun is the one that is used attributively. It would be easier if living languages followed rules 100%, but that is not the case.