More accepted students have chosen to enroll at Dartmouth than in any previous year, pushing the College’s “yield” to 54.5 percent, up from last May’s yield of 48.6 percent. The higher yield means that for the first time in seven years, Dartmouth likely won’t have to go to its wait list to fill next year’s class.
“The class profile will shift a little between now and September, but bottom line, this is great news for Dartmouth,” says Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Maria Laskaris. “The incoming class brings both tangible academic strength and diversity to our community. Through extensive on- and off-campus yield events, we had the chance to meet so many students and their families who were drawn to Dartmouth because of the strength of the academic enterprise and the vibrant, active, and engaged student body. The excitement they have for Dartmouth is palpable.”
The members of the incoming class bring exceptional academic accomplishment, with 94 percent ranking in the top 10 percent of their graduating class and mean SAT scores of 722 in critical reading, 726 in math, and 730 in writing. The incoming Class of 2018 also includes the largest-ever percentage of Latino students (8.4 percent) and the largest percentage of first-generation college students, at just over 11 percent of the class. The percentages of African American students and students graduating from public schools are also up over last year.
Read more:The high yield comes after Dartmouth this year saw its total number of applications drop 14 percent from 2013. Still, the number of applications is the fourth-largest pool of applicants and the most diverse group of students to apply in the College’s history.
Laskaris attributed the high yield following the overall drop in applications to a variety factors, including the nearly 1,300 prospective students and family members at the three Dimensions programs during the month of April, the dozen off-campus admitted student events hosted by alumni clubs in cities across the country that attracted nearly 500 students and parents, personal outreach to all admitted students by current undergraduates and faculty, and to an increasing awareness of Dartmouth’s leading role in addressing critical issues facing campuses nationwide.
Notwithstanding the normal attrition due to wait-list activity at other institutions and requests from students to take a gap year, the size of the incoming class will be somewhat higher than the projected class size of 1,120. The Admissions Office will admit fewer transfer students for the fall of 2014 in order to allow Dartmouth to accommodate an extra-large first year class. “The Class of 2014, the largest class ever to enroll at Dartmouth, numbered 1,138 at matriculation but the Class of 2018 is poised to break that record as well,” notes Laskaris.
“The incoming Class of 2018 is a clear signal that under President Hanlon’s leadership, Dartmouth is moving forward,” said Laskaris.
