Applications jump nearly 7%, admit rate flat at 33%
The College Admissions department may have ended a three-year rise in its admission rate, accepting about 33 percent of applicants from its largest and most diverse pool ever, a slight decrease from last year’s rate.
The College accepted 3,800 students from 11,622 applicants, and may accept waitlisted applicants this summer.
This year was one of the most competitive ever for American universities, with the number of high school graduates growing every year since the mid 1990s. An accelerated online application process, larger financial aid packages and broader recruiting have also heightened competition among students for spots in the country’s top tier universities.
Despite this growth in national application numbers — and a record number of applicants — the College’s acceptance rate declined only slightly from this time last year, going from 32.9 to 32.7 percent. By last fall, the acceptance rate had risen to 34 percent, as wait-listed students were accepted.
College admissions officials said they were pleased with the admittance rate.
Granger noted that the national trend to eliminate early action programs may have drawn more applicants to the College. Granger also said that many of the country’s universities have used their large financial resources to become more competitive.
He noted that almost all of the College’s financial aid is need-based, and that its financial resources cannot compete for many students against universities with billion-dollar endowments.
The College expects to enroll 1,350 of the admitted students. This expected yield rate of 35.5 percent is a decrease from last year’s rate of 37 percent.
Dean of Admissions Henry Broaddus said that this year’s applicant pool is one of the strongest and most diverse ever. The College admitted 1,207 students of color, up 16.7 percent from last year’s 938.
Broaddus also said the pool reflected a diversity of experience that would benefit the College’s academic climate.
“This is a diverse group that not only brings a range of experiences and background to campus but some of the strongest academic credentials we’ve ever seen,” he said.
The mid 50th SAT percentile for the admitted group was 1310–1470, the same as last year’s pool.
According to Granger and Broaddus, the class of 2012 boasts a Christmas tree farmer, a mandolin player and a girl who changed the color of her field hockey team’s jerseys to pink in support of breast cancer research.
