Tag Archive: Admissions

  1. Yale sees 5.8 percent increase in apps

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    Yale received 28,870 applications for admission to the class of 2016, marking a 5.8 percent increase from last year, Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Jeffrey Brenzel said in an email to the News Thursday morning.

    The jump comes as other Ivy League schools — Columbia and Penn are the only ones with data out now — have seen their applicant pool shrink this year. Applications to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University, meanwhile, jumped by 1 percent and 7 percent, respectively. Harvard and Princeton have yet to release their application numbers.

    Brenzel said Yale’s admit rate will probably decline slightly this year, as the University expects to admit about as many students as it did for the class of 2015 — around 2,100.

    If Yale were to accept the same number of students as it did last year — 2,109 in total, including waitlist admits — the admit rate would decrease from 7.35 percent to 6.95 percent, Yale’s lowest-ever admit rate.

    CORRECTION: Jan. 19 Last year, Yale admitted 2,109 students, waitlist admits included, not 2006 as was reported.

  2. Early admissions get tougher at elite schools

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    At least when it comes to early applications, it’s hard out there for a WASP.

    A larger, more diverse group of early applicants to America’s most elite universities has made early admission more elusive, especially for students from Northeastern prep schools, according to a New York Times article Friday. In the past, prep schools dominated the early rounds, but times are changing. At Princeton, for example, the majority of students accepted last month come from public high schools, and 37 percent are minorities. At Harvard, 20 percent of this year’s early admits are black or Hispanic.

    Last year, Harvard, Princeton and the University of Virginia reinstated early admissions policies, ushering in more deferrals and rejections. Yale admitted 15.7 percent of its early applicants to the class of 2016.

  3. Yale accepts 675 early applicants

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    Yale admitted 675 of the 4,304 early applicants for admission to the class of 2016, yielding a 15.7 percent acceptance rate for early action candidates, according to statistics released to alumni interviewers. Of the early applicant pool, 2,394 students have been deferred for regular decision and 1,180 were denied admission.

    The 15.7 percent early acceptance rate marks an increase from last year’s 14.5 percent and the 13.9 percent early acceptance rate for the class of 2014.

    Yale accepted 50 fewer students than Princeton and 100 fewer than Harvard in this admissions cycle, the first in four years in which all three schools have had early action policies.

    The breakdown:

    • Total applicants: 4,304
    • Number of applicants accepted: 675 (15.7 percent)
    • Number of applicants deferred: 2,394 (55.6 percent)
    • Number of applicants rejected: 1,180 (27.4 percent)
    • Number of incomplete/withdrawn applications: 55

  4. Harvard, Princeton admit over 700 early applicants

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    Harvard College accepted 772 of 4,231 early applicants this year, while Princeton University offered admission to 726 of 3,443 early candidates, the Harvard Crimson and Daily Princetonian reported Thursday. These decisions come as Harvard and Princeton reinstate early admission policies after a four-year hiatus.

    Harvard admitted fewer early applicants this year than it has in the past, when between 813 and 902 were admitted from applicant pools that ranged from 3,869 to 4,214. Overall, Harvard accepted 18 percent of early applicants on Thursday.

    “Their academic, extracurricular, and personal promise are remarkable by any standard, and it will be exciting to follow their progress over the next four years and beyond,” said William R. Fitzsimmons, Harvard’s dean of admissions and financial aid, in a press statement Thursday.

    At Harvard, 2,838 students were deferred to regular admission while 546 were denied admission. Princeton deferred 1,921 applicants to the regular pool and denied admission to 796 applicants, making for a 21 percent early acceptance rate.

    Yale notified early applicants of its decisions on Thursday, but did not release its application statistics.

  5. Environmental studies starts early admissions

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    The interdisciplinary environmental studies major usually accepts applications from sophomores in February, but this year it is offering an early December application deadline for students who already wish to apply.

    This is the first time the major is allowing students to apply early, said Paul Sabin, director of undergraduate studies for environmental studies. Early admission, he said, will allow students to choose their spring classes with environmental studies in mind. Students who apply by Dec. 21 will learn if they are admitted by Jan. 11, while the regular application deadline is Feb. 24.

    Sabin added that the major is not capped and that applying early or later will not affect a student’s chance of admission. The major — which combines coursework in the natural sciences, social sciences and humanities — requires an application so that faculty can ensure students are prepared for the “special challenges” posed by the mix of disciplines and have a plan for what area to concentrate in, he said.

    “Two application dates allow students who are ready to apply in December to know whether they have been accepted prior to finalizing their spring classes,” Sabin said in a Wednesday email. “Students who are still figuring out whether environmental studies is the right fit for them, or who are still completing coursework towards the prerequisites, may benefit from applying in February.”

    The early application option comes as the major has seen increased student interest in recent years. In 2009, 14 seniors graduated with environmental studies degrees, compared to 27 that will graduate in 2012 and 31 majors in the class of 2013, Sabin said.

    He said he attributes the increase to “growing interest in studying complex environmental problems” and a rising awareness of the major as more students take courses in environmental studies. To accommodate this interest, the major has created new course offerings, including new junior seminars, and intends to develop new field courses in the next year, he added.

    Students who apply to the major must submit a resume, transcript and statement of purpose.

  6. Yalies use their noodles, Newsweek says

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    Watch out, Harvard! Yale is ranked No. 1 in Newsweek magazine’s list of the “Best 25 Schools for Brainiacs,” published on Monday.

    “Whether you’re a brainiac, future power broker, or a jock there’s probably something for you at Yale,” the article said.

    Newsweek’s rankings looked at which colleges attracted the most high-achieving students and graduated the most high-achieving alumni. Among the factors taken into account were the number of Nobel laureates, MacArthur “geniuses” and Guggenheim fellows produced by each college or university. The rankings also considered the number of graduates receiving Rhodes, Fulbright, Marshall, Mitchell, Truman, or Gates-Cambridge scholars as well as the number who go on to receive doctorates.

    Harvard placed second on the list while Caltech took third place. All eight Ivy League colleges placed in the top 25.

  7. We’re number three! We’re number three! We’re number three!

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    usnews.jpgIt’s that time of year again.

    Yes, we know college rankings are useless. We know we shouldn’t care. Really, we don’t. But, honestly — you want to know how Yale did, don’t you?

    The U.S. News & World Report released its 2010 college rankings earlier today, and, like last year, Yale is ranked third. Princeton — which ceded first place to Harvard last year — now shares top billing with the Cantabs. Caltech, MIT, Stanford and the University of Pennsylvania tied for fourth place, Columbia and the University of Chicago share the eighth position, and Duke rounds out the top 10.

    Read more from The Associated Press. Or, for a more intellectually stimulating exercise, read about why Yale refuses to return the peer review survey that U.S. News uses as one factor in determining its rankings.

  8. Ricci ruling won’t affect college admissions policies, experts say

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    As the Supreme Court weighed this spring whether the city of New Haven was wrong in throwing out a 2003 Fire Department promotion exam because the scores of black firefighters were much lower than the scores of white firefighters, many wondered if its eventual verdict would impact the realm of higher education. Could a decision regarding the multiple-choice firefighters’ exam be applied to other standardized, multiple-choice exams, like the SAT?

    Now that the Court has ruled, the answer, according to experts, appears to be no.

    While the SAT, like the firefighters’ promotion exam, has been found to reflect higher scores among whites — a fact obliquely referenced by Justice Anthony Kennedy in his majority opinion, which said the city was indeed wrong in throwing out the test — the SAT is not an exam relating to employment and therefore would not be affected by the Court’s decision.

    (more…)

  9. Thirteen seniors win Fulbrights

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    Thirteen Yale seniors have been offered Fulbright Scholarships this year, the Office of Fellowship Programs announced today.

    The Fulbright is the largest American program of its kind offering opportunities to study, research and teach abroad.  At this time last year, 11 Yalies had been awarded Fulbright Scholarships.

    This year’s winners will travel to 10 different countries. Decisions from Egypt, Syria and Macau are still pending, said Director of Fellowship Programs Linda DeLaurentis.

    Full list of winners after the jump.

    (more…)

  10. Record number of students sign up for Bulldog Days

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    A record 1,185 admitted students registered to attend Bulldog Days this year, Dean of Admissions Jeff Brenzel said today.

    It is not exactly an unparalleled turnout, however; this total only surpasses last year’s figure by one student.

    But still. A record is a record.

    Nearly 500 students qualified for funding to assist them in traveling to Bulldog Days, Brenzel said, although he said he could not estimate the total amount of money the Admissions Office would shoulder as part of this commitment.

    “We maintained our expanded eligibility for assistance and were  able accommodate a large number of requests that involved tricky logistics or ticket splitting among other institutions,” he wrote in an e-mail message. “I feel confident that very few students may have decided against coming to Bulldog Days because of cost concerns.”

    Still, as Yale’s carefully organized Bulldog Days program kicks off today, no amount of planning can counteract the sudden downturn in the weather. But Brenzel said he remains optimistic.

    “I hope that Yale students will do what they always do in the event of a cold or rainy day or two in April in New Haven: show the prefrosh that Yale transcends the elements,” he said.

  11. Emma Watson headed to Brown, report says

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    watson.jpg

    A British publication is reporting that the actress Emma Watson has decided to matriculate at Brown University.  The “Harry Potter” star visited Yale in October and December and caused a stir on campus as students realized she was seriously considering coming to the Elm City for her undergraduate years.

    But it was apparently not meant to be.

    “She looked at universities over here [in Britain] but fell in love with Brown,” the News of the World tabloid quoted an unnamed source as saying in a report. “She has a lot of friends there.”

    (Photo: Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images)