Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Stanford's Applications Up, On Pace With Nationwide Rise In Applicants
It’s no news that Stanford is one of the most coveted universities for college-bound students. Applications for the Class of 2015 reached a record high for the University, totaling approximately 34,200 and representing a staggering 7 percent increase from last year. But what is it about Stanford that attracts so much interest?
According to Bob Patterson, director of undergraduate admission, the primary contributing factor to the increase in student interest was the University’s firm commitment to embodying the free spirit of learning, exemplified in the school’s motto, “Die Luft der Freiheit weht,” or “the wind of freedom blows.”
“Students are interested in pursuing their academic interests and [the Stanford message] aligns with those interests,” Patterson said.
Stanford’s increase in applications has not been markedly greater than figures at its peer institutions.
“We’re increasing at about the same rate,” said Patterson. “Last year had the highest number of high school graduates. This year, there’s been a decline, but more students are applying to more institutions.”
Another factor to be taken into consideration is Stanford’s prevalence in popular media. For instance, in James Cameron’s blockbuster “Avatar,” Dr. Grace Augustine, an eminent ecologist played by Sigourney Weaver ’72, wears a Cardinal tank top whenever she shifts into an alien body. Stanford’s reputation as a world-class institution, diffused through social media, may have a hand in boosting student interest as well.
“I don’t think it hurts to have that notoriety from the press, in films, important research, Orange Bowl victories,” said Patterson. “But it’s not something we can actually track in terms of affecting increases or decreases in applications.”
Despite the fact that Stanford played a big role in the plots of teen culture staples such as “High School Musical 3” and the series finale of Hannah Montana — the latter of which sparked rumors that its star, Miley Cyrus, would be joining the class of 2015 — the University does not seek to sell the Stanford brand. Any requests to use the Stanford brand must be approved first by University Communications.
“We never proactively market the Stanford brand,” said Lisa Lapin, assistant vice president of University Communications. “Instead, they come to us. We evaluate their request and approve it only if the character in the show adheres to the qualities embodied by the typical Stanford student. For example, in ‘Avatar,’ Weaver is a scientist, which fits with what a Stanford alum would do.”
Regardless of the free publicity, Stanford takes a staunch stance in adhering to the university’s educational mission.
“We’re not soliciting more applications,” said Patterson. “In general, there is a lot of student interest, [so] we try to reach out to students who are not aware of the Stanford message, students who’ve never heard of it before.”
Despite growing fears of a vanishing acceptance rate, Bob Patterson remains optimistic about its stability for the Class of 2015. He anticipates only a slight increase in selectivity, due to efforts by admissions staff to drive home the Stanford mission to prospective students of all backgrounds.
“Class size will be relatively the same,” said Patterson. “I think the acceptance rate will be relatively the same as last year’s, maybe a little more selective. We’re trying to make sure that students do their research before applying.”
Students who applied under the regular admission program will receive their admissions results by the end of March.
http://www.stanforddaily.com/2011/02/02/applications-up-on-pace-with-nationwide-rise-in-applicants/
According to Bob Patterson, director of undergraduate admission, the primary contributing factor to the increase in student interest was the University’s firm commitment to embodying the free spirit of learning, exemplified in the school’s motto, “Die Luft der Freiheit weht,” or “the wind of freedom blows.”
“Students are interested in pursuing their academic interests and [the Stanford message] aligns with those interests,” Patterson said.
Stanford’s increase in applications has not been markedly greater than figures at its peer institutions.
“We’re increasing at about the same rate,” said Patterson. “Last year had the highest number of high school graduates. This year, there’s been a decline, but more students are applying to more institutions.”
Another factor to be taken into consideration is Stanford’s prevalence in popular media. For instance, in James Cameron’s blockbuster “Avatar,” Dr. Grace Augustine, an eminent ecologist played by Sigourney Weaver ’72, wears a Cardinal tank top whenever she shifts into an alien body. Stanford’s reputation as a world-class institution, diffused through social media, may have a hand in boosting student interest as well.
“I don’t think it hurts to have that notoriety from the press, in films, important research, Orange Bowl victories,” said Patterson. “But it’s not something we can actually track in terms of affecting increases or decreases in applications.”
Despite the fact that Stanford played a big role in the plots of teen culture staples such as “High School Musical 3” and the series finale of Hannah Montana — the latter of which sparked rumors that its star, Miley Cyrus, would be joining the class of 2015 — the University does not seek to sell the Stanford brand. Any requests to use the Stanford brand must be approved first by University Communications.
“We never proactively market the Stanford brand,” said Lisa Lapin, assistant vice president of University Communications. “Instead, they come to us. We evaluate their request and approve it only if the character in the show adheres to the qualities embodied by the typical Stanford student. For example, in ‘Avatar,’ Weaver is a scientist, which fits with what a Stanford alum would do.”
Regardless of the free publicity, Stanford takes a staunch stance in adhering to the university’s educational mission.
“We’re not soliciting more applications,” said Patterson. “In general, there is a lot of student interest, [so] we try to reach out to students who are not aware of the Stanford message, students who’ve never heard of it before.”
Despite growing fears of a vanishing acceptance rate, Bob Patterson remains optimistic about its stability for the Class of 2015. He anticipates only a slight increase in selectivity, due to efforts by admissions staff to drive home the Stanford mission to prospective students of all backgrounds.
“Class size will be relatively the same,” said Patterson. “I think the acceptance rate will be relatively the same as last year’s, maybe a little more selective. We’re trying to make sure that students do their research before applying.”
Students who applied under the regular admission program will receive their admissions results by the end of March.
http://www.stanforddaily.com/2011/02/02/applications-up-on-pace-with-nationwide-rise-in-applicants/
Friday, January 28, 2011
An estimated 36,273 students submitted applications for Cornell's Class of 2015
Despite a surge in applications for other Ivy League schools, the number of high school students applying to Cornell remained relatively flat for the Class of 2015, according to information released by the University’s Undergraduate Admissions Office on Jan. 26.
An estimated 36,273 students submitted applications this year — an increase of 128 applicants, or less than one percent, from last year — according to Jason Locke, director of undergraduate admissions. Previously, application totals typically increased 5 to 10 percent per year.
Locke said even though the number of applications has not increased dramatically, the fact that it has not decreased reflected high school students’ continued interest in Cornell.
“[That] Cornell has continued … to maintain its increases from the past decade speaks to the fact that prospective students and families recognize the value of a Cornell education,” Locke stated in an e-mail.
Meanwhile, many of the University’s peer institutions reported double-digit growth in application numbers.
Columbia saw a 32-percent increase in applicants this year after its admissions office switched to the Common Application. At Harvard and Dartmouth, applications rose 15 percent and 15.7 percent, respectively. The University of Pennsylvania also saw a 15-percent increase, while Yale reported a 5-percent rise.
Cornell was the last Ivy to formally announce its applicant pool total.
Although Cornell’s increase was not as much compared to other Ivies, Locke noted that the compared to other Ivies, Locke noted that the University’s selectivity rate has skyrocketed in the past decade. In 2000, Cornell received 20,199 applications, resulting in an acceptance rate of 30 percent. Since then, the number of applications has nearly doubled in the past decade, leading in part to an admission rate of 18 percent last year.
“We’ve increased the number of applications by 74 percent over the past decade,” Locke said.
Locke attributed the increase in applications during the past 10 years to the University’s “sweeping changes” on its financial aid policies. Last fall, Day Hall announced the University would match financial aid offered by other Ivies in an effort to increase the yield total.
The vast increase in applications has been a national phenomena at top schools as applicants are applying to even more colleges.
Locke said that Cornell’s applicant pool increase is correlated to the increase in the “overall number of high school graduates,” a trend that he said the media labeled a “baby boomlet.”
But according to William Shain, an educational consultant and former dean of admissions at Vanderbilt and Bowdoin, the growth in applications is not due to “the number of high school seniors increasing,” but due to the fact that students are “just applying to more schools.”
“It isn’t even necessarily anything Cornell hasn’t done … there aren’t more bodies, there are more applications per body,” Shain said.
Admissions offices are under a lot of pressure to “inflate” the applicant totals, he added, in order to increase selectivity and maintain a decent credit rating.
Shain explained that “the admissions statistics are related to the bond rating,” and universities sell bonds to fund building projects. This creates a potential conflict of interest because institutions can decrease their cost of borrowing by inflating their applicant totals.
Today, many universities “are acting like a business” by trying to “maximize the numbers and statistics,” Shain said.
Shain also attributed today’s admissions frenzy to deans of admissions paying more attention to outside publications such as U.S. News & World Report.
The Cornell’s admissions office received 3,456 applications for early decision, a slight decrease of 4 percent from the previous year.
The University will announce regular application decisions April 1.
An estimated 36,273 students submitted applications this year — an increase of 128 applicants, or less than one percent, from last year — according to Jason Locke, director of undergraduate admissions. Previously, application totals typically increased 5 to 10 percent per year.
Locke said even though the number of applications has not increased dramatically, the fact that it has not decreased reflected high school students’ continued interest in Cornell.
“[That] Cornell has continued … to maintain its increases from the past decade speaks to the fact that prospective students and families recognize the value of a Cornell education,” Locke stated in an e-mail.
Meanwhile, many of the University’s peer institutions reported double-digit growth in application numbers.
Columbia saw a 32-percent increase in applicants this year after its admissions office switched to the Common Application. At Harvard and Dartmouth, applications rose 15 percent and 15.7 percent, respectively. The University of Pennsylvania also saw a 15-percent increase, while Yale reported a 5-percent rise.
Cornell was the last Ivy to formally announce its applicant pool total.
Although Cornell’s increase was not as much compared to other Ivies, Locke noted that the compared to other Ivies, Locke noted that the University’s selectivity rate has skyrocketed in the past decade. In 2000, Cornell received 20,199 applications, resulting in an acceptance rate of 30 percent. Since then, the number of applications has nearly doubled in the past decade, leading in part to an admission rate of 18 percent last year.
“We’ve increased the number of applications by 74 percent over the past decade,” Locke said.
Locke attributed the increase in applications during the past 10 years to the University’s “sweeping changes” on its financial aid policies. Last fall, Day Hall announced the University would match financial aid offered by other Ivies in an effort to increase the yield total.
The vast increase in applications has been a national phenomena at top schools as applicants are applying to even more colleges.
Locke said that Cornell’s applicant pool increase is correlated to the increase in the “overall number of high school graduates,” a trend that he said the media labeled a “baby boomlet.”
But according to William Shain, an educational consultant and former dean of admissions at Vanderbilt and Bowdoin, the growth in applications is not due to “the number of high school seniors increasing,” but due to the fact that students are “just applying to more schools.”
“It isn’t even necessarily anything Cornell hasn’t done … there aren’t more bodies, there are more applications per body,” Shain said.
Admissions offices are under a lot of pressure to “inflate” the applicant totals, he added, in order to increase selectivity and maintain a decent credit rating.
Shain explained that “the admissions statistics are related to the bond rating,” and universities sell bonds to fund building projects. This creates a potential conflict of interest because institutions can decrease their cost of borrowing by inflating their applicant totals.
Today, many universities “are acting like a business” by trying to “maximize the numbers and statistics,” Shain said.
Shain also attributed today’s admissions frenzy to deans of admissions paying more attention to outside publications such as U.S. News & World Report.
The Cornell’s admissions office received 3,456 applications for early decision, a slight decrease of 4 percent from the previous year.
The University will announce regular application decisions April 1.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Cornell's Early Admissions Acceptance Rate Increases to 35.2 Percent for Class of 2015
Cornell accepted 35.2 percent of early decision applicants this year, an increase of about 2 percent over last year but a decrease from previous years.
Of the 3,456 students who applied early to the University, 1,215 were accepted in mid-December, according to Interim Deputy University Spokesperson Claudia Wheatley.
Last year, Cornell accepted 1,189 students under early decision from a pool of 3,594 applicants, an admittance rate of 33.1 percent.
Early applications to Cornell for this year’s admissions cycle decreased for the first time since 2003. The University has not yet announced how many regular decision applications it received. That number will be released early next week, Wheatley said.
Cornell accepted a larger percentage of early applicants than any of its Ivy League peers who have early admission programs.
Penn accepted 26 percent of students who applied early this year. Brown and Dartmouth accepted 23 and 25 percent of early decision applicants, respectively. Yale offered admission to 14.5 percent of its early action applicants. Columbia accepted 19.6 percent of early applicants.
Harvard and Princeton ended their early admission programs in 2007.
http://cornellsun.com/section/news/content/2011/01/20/cornells-early-admissions-acceptance-rate-increases-352-percent
Of the 3,456 students who applied early to the University, 1,215 were accepted in mid-December, according to Interim Deputy University Spokesperson Claudia Wheatley.
Last year, Cornell accepted 1,189 students under early decision from a pool of 3,594 applicants, an admittance rate of 33.1 percent.
Early applications to Cornell for this year’s admissions cycle decreased for the first time since 2003. The University has not yet announced how many regular decision applications it received. That number will be released early next week, Wheatley said.
Cornell accepted a larger percentage of early applicants than any of its Ivy League peers who have early admission programs.
Penn accepted 26 percent of students who applied early this year. Brown and Dartmouth accepted 23 and 25 percent of early decision applicants, respectively. Yale offered admission to 14.5 percent of its early action applicants. Columbia accepted 19.6 percent of early applicants.
Harvard and Princeton ended their early admission programs in 2007.
http://cornellsun.com/section/news/content/2011/01/20/cornells-early-admissions-acceptance-rate-increases-352-percent
Yale sees 5 percent increase in applications for class of 2015
The number of applications to Yale College rose this year, but not as drastically as those to its peer rivals. Yale has received 27,230 applications — up more than 5 percent from the 25,869 it received last year, said Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Jeffrey Brenzel. While all the Ivy League schools, along with Stanford and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, reported increases in applicants this year, Harvard, Dartmouth and the University of Pennsylvania all experienced around 15 percent jumps.
Brenzel said year-to-year fluctuations in total applications have little meaning, and that instead of trying to increase the number of total applicants to the University, the admissions office focuses on attracting the best-qualified students. In that department, Yale is doing very well, he said.
“The scores and grades of our applicants … average the highest of any school in the country,” Brenzel said in an e-mail. “I am extremely satisfied that we are achieving our critical objectives of achieving the strongest applicant pool and the greatest access, while at the same time engaging in ethical recruiting practices.”
Last year, Harvard’s applications rose by 5 percent, Princeton’s by 19 percent, Brown’s by 20 percent, and Dartmouth’s by 4 percent. Yale’s more modest increase may indicate more about its competitors than the University itself, college counselors said. Jon Reider, college counselor at San Francisco University High School, said schools like Harvard aggressively recruit across the country in order to find a “gem in the ocean” — a qualified student who would not have known about Harvard, or its financial aid, if they had not received a mailing.
“They’re very good at finding these kids, and they spend a fortune collecting applications from everyone and their third cousin,” said Reider, adding that unfortunately, the vast majority of students who read these mailings are not qualified to attend top-tier universities like Harvard. “I don’t think this is an honorable thing to do,” he said.
Other counselors echoed Reider’s sentiments, and said Yale’s strategy is more responsible than other schools’. Beth Slattery, college counselor at Harvard-Westlake School in North Hollywood Calif., said Brenzel has been a leader in making sure not to “artificially inflate” Yale’s application number.
Brenzel said Yale has matched its competition in growing application numbers over the past 10 years.
“In terms of competitors, there are only a handful of schools — Yale, Stanford, Harvard, Princeton and MIT — that compete with one another for the most accomplished students,” he said. “Whatever the year-to-year fluctuations may be, the application growth at all five schools has shown similar strength over the past 10-year period.”
College counselors said Yale’s rise in applicants was predictable, and pointed to several University initiatives that they think are attracting more applicants.
Leonard King, director of college counseling at the Maret School in Washington D.C., said the University’s financial aid may be pulling in more applicants, especially from lower-income families. Nancy Beane, college counselor at the Westminster Schools in Atlanta, Ga., said Yale’s recent efforts to advertise its science and math programs have not gone unnoticed. University President Richard Levin pledged $500 million to the sciences in 2000, and Yale has since undertaken building projects on Science Hill, hired new professors, and invested in equipment.
“Yale has been focusing on math and science quite a bit,” Beane said. “Yale has always had really strong programs [in these areas], but now our students that might have veered towards schools more focused on science are including Yale in that list.”
Slattery said many schools’ numbers have increased because students feel their chances of getting in somewhere will be better if they apply to more places. She said this belief, which is not necessarily accurate, is especially prevalent in the demographic applying to Ivy League schools.
Since 2005, Yale, Harvard and Princeton have seen increases of 84 percent, 85 percent and 90 percent in applications received, respectively.
http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2011/jan/21/yale-attracts-more-applicants/
Brenzel said year-to-year fluctuations in total applications have little meaning, and that instead of trying to increase the number of total applicants to the University, the admissions office focuses on attracting the best-qualified students. In that department, Yale is doing very well, he said.
“The scores and grades of our applicants … average the highest of any school in the country,” Brenzel said in an e-mail. “I am extremely satisfied that we are achieving our critical objectives of achieving the strongest applicant pool and the greatest access, while at the same time engaging in ethical recruiting practices.”
Last year, Harvard’s applications rose by 5 percent, Princeton’s by 19 percent, Brown’s by 20 percent, and Dartmouth’s by 4 percent. Yale’s more modest increase may indicate more about its competitors than the University itself, college counselors said. Jon Reider, college counselor at San Francisco University High School, said schools like Harvard aggressively recruit across the country in order to find a “gem in the ocean” — a qualified student who would not have known about Harvard, or its financial aid, if they had not received a mailing.
“They’re very good at finding these kids, and they spend a fortune collecting applications from everyone and their third cousin,” said Reider, adding that unfortunately, the vast majority of students who read these mailings are not qualified to attend top-tier universities like Harvard. “I don’t think this is an honorable thing to do,” he said.
Other counselors echoed Reider’s sentiments, and said Yale’s strategy is more responsible than other schools’. Beth Slattery, college counselor at Harvard-Westlake School in North Hollywood Calif., said Brenzel has been a leader in making sure not to “artificially inflate” Yale’s application number.
Brenzel said Yale has matched its competition in growing application numbers over the past 10 years.
“In terms of competitors, there are only a handful of schools — Yale, Stanford, Harvard, Princeton and MIT — that compete with one another for the most accomplished students,” he said. “Whatever the year-to-year fluctuations may be, the application growth at all five schools has shown similar strength over the past 10-year period.”
College counselors said Yale’s rise in applicants was predictable, and pointed to several University initiatives that they think are attracting more applicants.
Leonard King, director of college counseling at the Maret School in Washington D.C., said the University’s financial aid may be pulling in more applicants, especially from lower-income families. Nancy Beane, college counselor at the Westminster Schools in Atlanta, Ga., said Yale’s recent efforts to advertise its science and math programs have not gone unnoticed. University President Richard Levin pledged $500 million to the sciences in 2000, and Yale has since undertaken building projects on Science Hill, hired new professors, and invested in equipment.
“Yale has been focusing on math and science quite a bit,” Beane said. “Yale has always had really strong programs [in these areas], but now our students that might have veered towards schools more focused on science are including Yale in that list.”
Slattery said many schools’ numbers have increased because students feel their chances of getting in somewhere will be better if they apply to more places. She said this belief, which is not necessarily accurate, is especially prevalent in the demographic applying to Ivy League schools.
Since 2005, Yale, Harvard and Princeton have seen increases of 84 percent, 85 percent and 90 percent in applications received, respectively.
http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2011/jan/21/yale-attracts-more-applicants/
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Brown’s Undergraduate Applications Increase to Record 31,000 for Class of 2015
Jan. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Brown University received almost 31,000 applications for undergraduate admission for the next academic year, an all-time high and part of a 50 percent increase over three years.
The university got its highest-ever number of international applicants, about 4,800, from countries including China, Korea, India, Pakistan and Turkey, James Miller, dean of admission for the university in Providence, Rhode Island, said today in a statement. The total number of applications rose about 2.9 percent from 30,136 a year ago.
After last year’s application surge of about 20 percent, the university couldn’t accommodate assembling hundreds of boxes of paper forms in its undergraduate admissions office and was forced to open a satellite office on campus. Brown switched to an entirely electronic format, Miller said.
“We are glad to be conducting this year’s admission cycle in a more efficient, environmentally friendly, online-imaging process, which has eliminated the need for us to print, track and file more than 1 million individual pieces of paper,” Miller said in the statement.
Brown, a member of the Ivy League group of eight universities in the northeastern U.S., admitted 9 percent of applicants last year. Undergraduate tuition, room, board and fees are $51,360 for the 2010-11 school year.
About 8,400 students attend Brown, including about 6,000 undergraduates. Next year’s freshman class is expected to be about 1,485 students, Miller said.
Harvard, Columbia
Undergraduate applications to two Ivy League colleges, Harvard University and Columbia University, also rose to all- time highs, the institutions announced Jan. 14 in separate statements
Harvard, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, received almost 35,000 applications for the next academic year, a 15 percent increase from 30,489 for the current year. At Columbia, in New York, applications rose 32 percent to 34,587, from 26,179 a year earlier.
Applications at Stanford University near Palo Alto, California, climbed 6.8 percent to 34,200 from 32,022 a year ago, Bob Patterson, director of admission, said Jan. 13 in an interview.
Brown, founded in 1764, lists among its alumni Meredith Whitney, the financial analyst who heads New York-based Meredith Whitney Advisory Group, and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal.
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-01-18/brown-s-undergraduate-applications-increase-to-record-31-000.html
Brown admitted 577 early decision applicants for class of 2015
Brown admitted 577 early decision applicants Dec. 13 to its class of 2015. The acceptance rate was just under 21 percent, with 2,796 applicants, according to the Office of Admission.
Academically, this year had "the strongest early decision applicant pool we've seen," said Dean of Admission Jim Miller '73.
This year's numbers are similar to last year's. Of the 2,847 students who applied early decision last year, 567 were admitted to the class of 2014, an acceptance rate of 20 percent.
Applicants have shown a slight increase in interest in the sciences over the past few years. The trend may reflect increased recruiting in the sciences and a recent increase in Brown's national recognition in the sciences, Miller said.
A combined 46 percent of students are primarily interested in the sciences, with 26 percent in the life and medical sciences and 20 percent in the physical sciences.
Thirty one percent are primarily interested in the social sciences, and 19 percent are interested in the humanities. Four percent of students are undecided, according to the Office of Admission.
Seventeen students were admitted to the Program in Liberal Medical Education, which grants students admission to Brown's Alpert Medical School pending the completion of undergraduate study at Brown.
Fifty four percent of those accepted are women, similar to last year, Miller said.
Of those admitted, 11 percent identify as Asian, nine percent as African American, seven percent as Latino and one percent as Native American. Half identify as white. Others identified as unknown or international.
International students accounted for 11 percent of those admitted and hail from 20 different countries. China, Canada, South Korea, the United Kingdom and India top the list.
Students were accepted from all but six states, the most common being New York, California, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Connecticut.
Twenty percent of those admitted are from New England, a slight decrease from last year, Miller said. Thirteen percent are from New York, and 17 percent are from the Mid-Atlantic. Nine percent are from the Midwest or Central areas of the country. Four percent hail from the Mountain or Pacific regions, and 13 percent are from California. Thirteen percent of students come from the South, an increase from last year, he said.
A majority of students — 57 percent — attended public schools. One third attended private schools, and 11 percent attended parochial schools. There are slightly more first-generation college students than last year, Miller said.
The acceptance rate for early decision applicants tends to be much higher than that for regular decision. The early decision applicant pool has a large number of recruited athletes, accounting for part of the discrepancy in admittance rates, Miller said.
"Last year's pool was the biggest early decision pool in our history," he said. The number of early decision applications last year jumped by about 20 percent from previous years. This year's was the second largest in the University's history.
The deadline for regular decision applicants is January 1, 2011.
In recent years, University officials have aimed to have incoming freshman classes with 1,485 students. The class of 2015 should be similar, Miller said. Last year, administrators said they planned to maintain the size of the incoming first-year class while increasing undergraduate enrollment, according to a campus-wide e-mail sent by President Ruth Simmons summarizing the Corporation meeting Feb. 27. The University is planning to accept more transfer students to make up the gap, she wrote in the e-mail.
For the first time, admission officials read all applications electronically. "The process went remarkably smoothly," Miller said.
Last year, due to the overwhelming number of applications, the Office of Admission had to temporarily store some applicants' files in Alumnae Hall. "Nobody's yearning for paper applications anymore," Miller said.
This year's admission cycle also marks the first with the new School of Engineering, which was approved by the Corporation in May. But Miller said the engineering school did not have much of an impact on admission.
Unlike many other engineering schools, Brown's does not have a separate admission process. Applicants apply to the College and do not have to declare a concentration until the end of sophomore year.
"We've tried to publicize the existence of the school," Miller said. "I'm hoping we'll see an uptick in engineering interests" among applicants.
http://www.browndailyherald.com/web-update-after-record-setting-year-early-acceptance-rate-steady-at-20-percent-1.2428014
Academically, this year had "the strongest early decision applicant pool we've seen," said Dean of Admission Jim Miller '73.
This year's numbers are similar to last year's. Of the 2,847 students who applied early decision last year, 567 were admitted to the class of 2014, an acceptance rate of 20 percent.
Applicants have shown a slight increase in interest in the sciences over the past few years. The trend may reflect increased recruiting in the sciences and a recent increase in Brown's national recognition in the sciences, Miller said.
A combined 46 percent of students are primarily interested in the sciences, with 26 percent in the life and medical sciences and 20 percent in the physical sciences.
Thirty one percent are primarily interested in the social sciences, and 19 percent are interested in the humanities. Four percent of students are undecided, according to the Office of Admission.
Seventeen students were admitted to the Program in Liberal Medical Education, which grants students admission to Brown's Alpert Medical School pending the completion of undergraduate study at Brown.
Fifty four percent of those accepted are women, similar to last year, Miller said.
Of those admitted, 11 percent identify as Asian, nine percent as African American, seven percent as Latino and one percent as Native American. Half identify as white. Others identified as unknown or international.
International students accounted for 11 percent of those admitted and hail from 20 different countries. China, Canada, South Korea, the United Kingdom and India top the list.
Students were accepted from all but six states, the most common being New York, California, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Connecticut.
Twenty percent of those admitted are from New England, a slight decrease from last year, Miller said. Thirteen percent are from New York, and 17 percent are from the Mid-Atlantic. Nine percent are from the Midwest or Central areas of the country. Four percent hail from the Mountain or Pacific regions, and 13 percent are from California. Thirteen percent of students come from the South, an increase from last year, he said.
A majority of students — 57 percent — attended public schools. One third attended private schools, and 11 percent attended parochial schools. There are slightly more first-generation college students than last year, Miller said.
The acceptance rate for early decision applicants tends to be much higher than that for regular decision. The early decision applicant pool has a large number of recruited athletes, accounting for part of the discrepancy in admittance rates, Miller said.
"Last year's pool was the biggest early decision pool in our history," he said. The number of early decision applications last year jumped by about 20 percent from previous years. This year's was the second largest in the University's history.
The deadline for regular decision applicants is January 1, 2011.
In recent years, University officials have aimed to have incoming freshman classes with 1,485 students. The class of 2015 should be similar, Miller said. Last year, administrators said they planned to maintain the size of the incoming first-year class while increasing undergraduate enrollment, according to a campus-wide e-mail sent by President Ruth Simmons summarizing the Corporation meeting Feb. 27. The University is planning to accept more transfer students to make up the gap, she wrote in the e-mail.
For the first time, admission officials read all applications electronically. "The process went remarkably smoothly," Miller said.
Last year, due to the overwhelming number of applications, the Office of Admission had to temporarily store some applicants' files in Alumnae Hall. "Nobody's yearning for paper applications anymore," Miller said.
This year's admission cycle also marks the first with the new School of Engineering, which was approved by the Corporation in May. But Miller said the engineering school did not have much of an impact on admission.
Unlike many other engineering schools, Brown's does not have a separate admission process. Applicants apply to the College and do not have to declare a concentration until the end of sophomore year.
"We've tried to publicize the existence of the school," Miller said. "I'm hoping we'll see an uptick in engineering interests" among applicants.
http://www.browndailyherald.com/web-update-after-record-setting-year-early-acceptance-rate-steady-at-20-percent-1.2428014
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