With admission staffers “still nursing their paper cuts,” the final count of applications for the Class of 2002 could total around 3,600, breaking a three-year-old record, said Dan Lundquist, vice president for admissions and financial aid.
But the best news, Lundquist said, is the academic quality. Objective
descriptors – grades and test scores – show that the entire pool is as strong as
the recently-matriculated Class of 2001; the applicant pool for the Class of 2002 has an
average SAT of 1220 (math 620, verbal 600). More than 80 percent are in top third of their
class, with almost 40 percent in the top 10.
“All the academic indicators go up from here,” he said.
“As we admit, we 'cut' the bottom out of the pool, resulting in a very
highly-qualified admit group,” he explained. “Two-thirds of the admit group will
go elsewhere, leaving us with a class with higher indices than the applicant group and
lower ones than the admit group.”
Thirty foreign countries and 38 states are represented in the pool.
Lundquist said, and gender, academic major, and racial balance are similar to recent
years. Forty-five percent of applicants are from New York State, down from a high of 70
percent about 10 years ago.
On-campus and alumni interviews were up14 percent this year, almost 50
percent since 1995, Lundquist said. “Our research shows that people have a good
experience on campus and with alumni.”