Although it may be fruitless to define the average Wesleyan student, the 739 students in the class of 2011 altogether reflect average trends in University admissions from the past three years, even as the number of applications continues to increase.
Out of 7,750 applicants, 2,123 were accepted, signaling a five percent increase in applicants, as well as a five percent increase in offers of admission. The University remains one of the most selective in the nation, with a selectivity rate of 27 percent, the same as last year.
Even if diversity in terms of geography, students of color and student income did not undergo a radical change with this year’s matriculated class, Senior Associate Dean of Admission Greg Pyke says that students of 2011 remain a diverse group of unique individuals, each with their own idiosyncratic story to tell.
“I think what’s notable about admissions becomes clear as you get to know the individuals and the stories that they represent,” said Pyke. “That doesn’t show up in a percentage moving up or down a few numbers.”
The number of students who applied to Wesleyan through Early Decision this year also remained similar to the year before, dropping to 38 percent from 39 percent in 2006. Pyke said that Early Decision has been part of Wesleyan policy for the past 30 years and is not considered a controversial process.
Recently, peer institutions such as Harvard, Princeton and Yale have stopped offering Early Decision programs, arguing that it places lower-income students at a disadvantage because it may limit their ability to compare financial aid packages from a wider selection of schools.
“Like a lot of small liberal arts colleges, Wesleyan’s Early Decision program has really served the school well,” Pyke said. “It allows some students to identify the college as their first choice in November, and allows others to matriculate in April if they want to do so.”
46 percent of students received financial aid this year, a four percent increase from last year, but at the same time three percent lower than the recent high of 49 percent financial aid for the class of ’07.
The percentage of enrolled students who are the first in their family to attend college remains the same as last year at 14 percent, as does the percentage of students of color at 32 percent.
Students who identify themselves as Asian American remain the largest group in the first year student-of-color community at 15 percent, while the number of African American students dropped two percent from last year, from nine to seven percent, as did the number of enrolled Latino students, from ten to eight percent.
Reflective of an increasing, nationwide competitiveness for a place in the top liberal arts schools, the class of 2011 was significantly involved in challenging high school coursework: 80 percent of enrolled students had taken a fourth year of a foreign language.
“In looking at individual applications, we do take note of groups, teams, organizations and publications that an individual participates in,” said Pyke. “But we also
understand that students have to be students first.”
“Generally speaking, the most important part of a student’s record is their academic engagement and intellectual promise,” he added.
Also reflecting an effort on the part of the University to attract more students with a strong interest in science, 79 percent of enrolled students had taken Biology, Chemistry and Physics in high school. Along with a $2.5 million pledge for a renovated Science Center awarded last April, as well as the $500,000 grant for research equipment given to the Science Department last September, the University continues its push towards increasing the prominence of the sciences within its curriculum.
“We always take into consideration what is underrepresented in the Wesleyan student body,” Pyke said. “That can be geography, or students with an interest in science.”
The median verbal SAT score remained steady at 700, as it has for the past four years, while the median math SAT score dropped 10 points from last year, from 700 to 690. Meanwhile, the SAT writing score jumped twenty points, from 690 to 710.
“It’s always good when a score goes up,” said Pyke, “but we’ll have to wait three to four years before we can see what the median score for that test is.”
The majority of the student body continues to hail from the East coast, with 23 percent of enrolled students from New England and 38 percent from the Mid Atlantic states, including New York. Both of these statistics have only changed one percent since last year. However, with ten percent of enrolled students coming from abroad, the number of students living outside the U.S. is at an all-time high.
Pyke said that continuing to attract students from outside of New England will remain an important goal for University Admissions, as representatives from the Admissions Office continue to travel extensively on the West coast and in the Southwest, the Caribbean, Hawaii and Asia. Typically, members of the Admissions Office travel with a group of representatives from other universities, including Davidson, John Hopkins and Swarthmore, visiting high schools and at times attending receptions in the homes of alumni.
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