With the April 1 acceptance deadline past, Wesleyan has accepted 1,809 applications from the Class of 2009.
This statistic is almost identical to the 1800 students who were offered admission for the class of 2008, despite the fact that the number of submitted applications rose by 5% (6848 for the class of 2009, from 6509 for the class of 2008). The acceptance rate for black students rose by 48 percent.
“The most dramatic increase was in the number of students who applied, but it really cannot affect our total acceptance numbers,” said Greg Pyke, Senior Associate Dean of Admission. “The total number admitted is essentially the same as last year [because] we have the same size class in mind. Even if application numbers had gone up by more than 5%, we unfortunately wouldn’t be able to increase the total number.”
To decide how many students to accept each year, the admissions staff usually looks at a combination of factors including the strength of the admitted group and yield of past years.
“It’s mostly made based on recent years’ experience with yield, which is the percentage of or fraction of offers of admission accepted by students,” Pyke said. “We want the product of yield to be 720, so you look at acceptance rates within [the] last two or three years.”
Last year the University accepted 1,800 applications, and 729 students accepted the University’s offer.
“You also look at the number that you’ve already enrolled for early acceptance, and you pay some attention to the strength of competition [for Wesleyan as compared to other universities]” Pyke said. “Of admitted students, the stronger the admitted group is, [the] more of a challenge it is to enroll the same percentage of students.”
Although the statistics for accepted applications this year stayed relatively consistent with those of past years, there were significant increases in the percentage of admitted black students and students from the South. While Wesleyan accepted 155 black students last year, which was 9 percent of the total accepted students, the number jumped to 230, or 13 percent of total admits this year.
Although these numbers are in part due to an 18 percent rise in applications from black students received this year, or a total of 504, the acceptance rate for blacks rose by 48 percent.
Some students of color have praised this increase but warn that it should not be hailed as a solution to all problems on campus.
“Though racial diversity is a highlight here at Wesleyan, it is important to note that the presence of racial diversity does not reassure the complete absence of racial tension and unresolved issues,” said Tameir Holder ’08. “Despite these issues, I think these [statistics prove] that Wesleyan should continue on its designated path.”
There was also a notable increase of admitted students from the South. This year 140, or 8 percent, of the total were accepted compared to 102, or 6 percent, of the total acceptances for the Class of 2008.
The admissions office is now focusing all its energy on recruiting prospective Wesleyan students, according to Nancy Meislahn, Dean of Admission and Financial Aid. WesFest is the most significant current effort.
The Office of Admission also holds a series of “phonathons,” when Wesleyan encourages students to spend a few hours calling people from their home states or local areas. Although calling is completely voluntary, student participation is high, Pyke said.
“A good number take the opportunity to call prospective students to encourage enrollment,” Pyke said. “They are able to talk to prospective students from their state or from their old high schools, and that local connection is part of the incentive.”
The most recruitment work for accepted students, however, goes into WesFest. The University must coordinate the planning and organization of hosting opportunities for hundreds of visiting students, and special WesFest interns are hired expressly for that purpose.
“Some of our biggest challenge comes in convincing the students we admit to choose Wesleyan,” Meislahn said. “Many of the students that we admit will have other excellent and very tempting offers. We need a full campus effort to welcome these students at WesFest and to help them see what great opportunities there are here — for students from all kinds of backgrounds.”