FROM THE DARTMOUTH WEBSITE: 3/31/2009
Dartmouth College admits 12 percent of applicants for the Class of 2013
Dartmouth College announced today it has extended offers of admission to 2,184 applicants for its Class of 2013, from a pool of 18,130 - the largest of number of applicants in the College's history – and a 10 percent increase over last year’s record number of applicants.
The Class of 2013 was selected through a fully need-blind admissions process. Dartmouth administrators project that 55 percent of the entering class will receive need-based financial aid, totaling $21.8 million in scholarship assistance.
“The academic credentials of admitted students are very strong, particularly in the number of students ranked in the top 10 percent of their class as well as students ranked first in their class,” said Maria Laskaris, Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid. Laskaris is a 1984 graduate of Dartmouth.
To date, the number of students qualifying for aid is up 14 percent, and represents almost half of the pool of admitted students.
The financial aid office is also projecting an average scholarship of $33,978 compared to an average scholarship of $31,274 for the Class of 2012. The College has budgeted for a 13 percent increase in total financial aid for FY 2010, to $72 million.
The overall rate of admission this year was 12 percent, down from 13.5 percent for the Class of 2012. Approximately 1,090 of those admitted are expected to matriculate at Dartmouth in September 2009.
Of those who were ranked by their secondary schools, 95 percent of students admitted were in the top 10 percent of their secondary school's graduating class, including 42.5 percent who were valedictorians and 10.8 percent who were salutatorians. The mean SAT scores for students admitted this year are: 729 Verbal, 733 Math and 732 Writing.
This year, 45 percent of the students admitted to Dartmouth are students of color, the most diverse group in the College's history. Students of color currently make up over 30 percent of the student body.
Dartmouth strengthened its financial aid program last year, offering free tuition for students who come from families with annual incomes at or below $75,000. Dartmouth has a need-blind admissions policy, accepting students, both domestic and international, regardless of ability to pay. Once admitted, the College meets 100 percent of the student’s demonstrated need for all four years through a combination of scholarships and campus employment.
Laskaris says the increase in the number of students receiving scholarship assistance and the increase in the size of the scholarship award are a direct reflection of the no-loan component of Dartmouth’s expansive financial aid program announced in January 2008, as well as the impact of the global economic crisis.
Laskaris credits the rise in applications to the strength of Dartmouth’s financial aid program and a comprehensive recruitment process that highlighted Dartmouth’s exceptional faculty, robust academic program, and its diverse community. This year’s applicant pool was notable for the continued growth in diversity, with applications from women, students of color, first generation college students, and international students all at record levels.
Dartmouth College was recently recognized as a “best value” by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, the Princeton Review, and Smart Moneymagazine. Dartmouth ranked 7th on Kiplinger’s list of 50 best value private universities, and Princeton Reviewnamed Dartmouth as one of 50 best value private colleges. Smart Money, in their “Colleges that Pay Off” series studying the relationship between tuition costs and earning potential, ranked Dartmouth second among the Ivies.
Other highlights:
-The numbers of men and women admitted were practically even: 1,091 to 1,093 respectively.
-The College admitted 185 international students representing 59 nations.
-The Class of 2013 includes 310 first-generation college students, comprising 14 percent of the admitted group.
-Admitted students come from across the nation as well as around the world: 577 come from the Mid-Atlantic region; 455 from the West; 401 from the South; 337 from New England; 237 from the Midwest and 177 have a non-U.S. address.
-The College admitted 162 students who are the children of Dartmouth alumni/ae.