In the past four years, the University’s applicant pool has increased by 35 percent, from just under 9,500 in 2014 to this year’s record of 12,788. For the Class of 2022, however, approximately 17.5 percent—2,233 students—were admitted, which marks a slight increase from the roughly two thousand students admitted to the Class of 2021. The male to female ratio of 45 and 55 percent, respectively, remains consistent with that of the past several years.
According to Dean of Admission and Financial Aid Nancy Meislahn, the Class of 2022 is estimated to deliver 780 new students to the University, a number on par with the Class of 2020. 1,096—9 percent of applicants—students applied Early Decision and 404 were admitted, comprising 18 percent of all admission offers. Many of those students are expected to visit the University next week for WesFest, which will take place from Wednesday, April 11 to Friday, April 13.
The amelioration of the University’s financial state means that the University was able to increase financial aid offers to low-income students hoping to attend.
“The most important thing we’re doing is adding to financial aid, so as to ensure that students who do decide to come to Wesleyan are able to have the aid they need to make the most out of their experience while they’re here,” President Michael Roth ’78 told The Argus last year.
Delivering on Roth’s promise, the University offered financial aid to half of all applicants, an increase of three percentage points compared to last year. In addition to increasing financial aid offers, the University continues its attempts to reduce potential income disparities by remaining test-optional. Nonetheless, three-quarters of applicants chose to submit their test scores for consideration.
As in previous years, the median test scores of admitted students have risen significantly. The median ACT score for the Class of 2022 is 34, a full point higher than last year. The SAT medians for English/writing and math are 740 and 770, respectively. These scores place the average University student in the 99th percentile of all students who took standardized tests this year. Even those with test scores in the bottom 25 percent ranked in the mid-97th percentile nationwide.
Another major academic shift occurred in students’ high school course choices. Compared to last year, more students took four years of a foreign language (82 percent), while fewer students took biology, chemistry, and physics and math through calculus (83 and 87 percent, respectively).
The demographics of the incoming class of 2022 display changes as well. Last year, 16 percent of the applicants resided in New England, while this year, 18 percent of applicants live in New England. Similarly, in 2017, 16 percent of admitted students lived in 70 countries including Argentina, Cyprus, and Ethiopia, while this year, 16 percent of admitted students live in 63 other countries. More international students were admitted this year, increasing from 266 to 280 students. English is a second language for 16 percent of the admitted students.
The University strives to continue its commitment to diversity in admissions. Admittance of students of color increased from 44 percent to 45 percent, while admittance of first-generation students decreased from 15 to 13 percent.
“The admitted students are diverse in nationality, region, first language, race, ethnicity, and socio-economic status,” the Admissions Office wrote in the Profile of Students Offered Admission for Fall 2018. “The variety of talents and commitments to school groups, civic and religious organizations, politics, and the arts make successful candidates more likely to contribute to the life of this vibrant community called Wesleyan.”
Kaye Dyja can be reached at kdyja@wesleyan.edu or on Twitter as @kayedyja.
Erin Hussey can be reached at ehussey@wesleyan.edu or on Twitter as @e_riss.