<p>Thanks, Xiggi, for gathering the numbers. And thanks to the participants who clarified the frequently asked question about admission numbers contrasted with matriculation numbers. Few schools have a yield of matriculated students from admitted applicants above 50 percent, so most schools issue plenty of admission offers.</p>
<p>Swarthmore: 4,085apps, 900 accepted (22%)</p>
<p>22% admitted at swarthmore</p>
<p>too funny that we posted the same info at the very same minute!! what is that about great minds think alike (or at the same time!)</p>
<p>Columbia:
Columbia College 15,790 (up 5%), accepted 1638 -- 10.4%
SEAS 2,330, accepted 612 -- 26.3%</p>
<p>Davidson class of 2009:</p>
<pre><code> applications 4257; accepted 1099 25.8%
mid 50% SAT range of accepted students: 1350-1490
</code></pre>
<p>Georgetown University:</p>
<p>15,274 applications
3,199 students accepted
**20.9% **acceptance rate</p>
<p>SAT range of 1340-1520
Average student was in the 96th percentile of their class.</p>
<p>Penn: overall 20.8% admit rate.
18,823 applicants, 3,912 accepted.
mean sat: 1434
sat2 mean: 720</p>
<p>Yup, for Penn the admit rate for ED was 29.9%, for RD was 17.8%...my son was deferred ED and as a legacy the admit rate for ED was even higher (?40%). I was sent a letter(as alumni) saying those deferred had a 10-15% rate of RD acceptance-- so he pretty much wrote it off, and then he was accepted RD. They took 10-11 % of those deferred ED in the RD. You never know. As for the other schools and numbers, they do blow your socks off...I wonder if the schools that do so much soliciting (Wash U and JHU in our case) saw big jumps..and if they are done flooding people with mail...</p>
<p>Williams
ED 210 out of 529 = 40%
RD 865 out of 5283 = 16%
Total 1075 out of 5812 = 18%</p>
<p>I got the figures off the Williams website, but I am too lazy to look for the links.</p>
<p>What a wonderful bonanza for the next 25 schools! All those students, just as qualified academically as those who were accepted to these, going to the next 25, large numbers with merit scholarships. ;)</p>
<p>Wow Penn is really similar to Georgetown! Almost the same % admitted, similar average SAT... I wonder why I didn't get in. :p</p>
<p>College accepts 1,173 students for class of 2009</p>
<p>Last week, the Admissions Committee mailed its decision letters to 6,273 applicants for the class of 2009. There were more applicants for the class of 2009 than any other class in the College?s history, according to Dean of Admission and Financial Aid Tom Parker. Last year, the College received 5,489 applications?the number increased by 14 percent this year. ?This was the largest group ever to apply to Amherst,? said Parker. </p>
<p>The College accepted 1,173 students, slightly less than 19 percent of the total number of applicants. Over 89 percent of the students accepted applied regular decision; only 126 students were accepted early decision. The College hopes to have 424 students matriculate. </p>
<p>Parker emphasized that he is not sure exactly why the College received so many more applications than last year, although he does have a few theories. ?This is really speculative, but we have gotten a certain amount of response about the College being featured on the ?News Hour [with Jim Lehrer? on PBS],? he said. ?Also, year after year being ranked number one or number two by U.S. News & World Report has a cumulative effect.? Parker also said that he believes Amherst, Williams and Swarthmore Colleges are now often considered in the same group as Harvard, Princeton and Yale Universities. </p>
<p>The College was one of three schools to receive a substantial increase in applications. ?Princeton, Harvard and Amherst all had double digit increases [in percent of applicants],? said Parker. ?Small liberal arts colleges received on average within plus or minus three percent of the number of applications they received last year. Williams had a slight decrease of three percent this year, but that is following a slight increase last year.? </p>
<p>The academic statistics for the accepted students are incredibly impressive. Continuing a trend of increasing SAT scores, the average verbal SAT score of accepted students is 736, and the average math SAT score is 726.</p>
<p>"The College was one of three schools to receive a substantial increase in applications. Princeton, Harvard and Amherst all had double digit increases [in percent of applicants]," said Parker. "Small liberal arts colleges received on average within plus or minus three percent of the number of applications they received last year. Williams had a slight decrease of three percent this year, but that is following a slight increase last year."</p>
<p>Humm, Mr. Parker knows his PR! Williams had 5704 or 5705 applications in 2008; in 2009, the number increased to 5812. </p>
<p>Link for Williams numbers at </p>
<p>Okay, the thread has already had an explanation of the How to Lie with Statistics principle of admitting many more students than can possibly enroll--because many admitted students will end up NOT enrolling at that particular college. Now to the second step: if a college reports an SAT score range for its ADMITTED students, don't you think most of the admittees at the high end of that range end up enrolling at more sought-after colleges? The way to check would be to compare SAT ranges for admitted students (reported in college press releases at this time of year) with SAT ranges for matriculated students (reported in each year's Common Data Set data for each college). Does anyone care to compare SAT ranges for admitted students with SAT ranges for matriculated students at some of the more interesting colleges mentioned in this thread?</p>
<p>Xiggi, nice bit of research. I am impressed, and I don't get impressed very easily. (Taxguy bows)</p>
<p>Thanks Xiggi, really great stuff to read. </p>
<p>Does anyone know where to find yeild rates for these schools? Just curious.</p>
<p>Xiggi, thanks for starting this thread. My daughter is a h.s. junior who is a little bummed out this week, because all of her senior friends have been rejected from all the schools they were vying for. I did a little probing and all of the names that my daughter supplied me with (of rejecting schools) were the mega selective ones - and I think the kids are getting into UC o.k. Since we are in California, it is probably more typical for kids to simply use UC as their safety, since kids who meet certain qualifications are theoretically guaranteed a space, even if not at their campus of choice. </p>
<p>But this thread will definitely be a good starting point for discussion, as I am trying to get my d. to set more realistic goals. Personally, I think any college with below a 20% admit rate is a waste of an application fee - at least for any kid who isn't truly a superstar. So maybe a nice dose of reality is helpful. </p>
<p>By the way, my daughter is looking at Barnard -- which reports a 26.9% admit rate with a median SAT score of 1400; 25% admit rate from their RD pool. (So I guess I can allow my daughter to apply, though not to get her hopes up.) Source: <a href="http://www.barnard.edu/newnews/news040405b.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.barnard.edu/newnews/news040405b.html</a></p>
<p>Applications were up at Swarthmore from roughly 3700 last year to 4085 this year. 31% of the class were valedictorians, roughly 53% were in the top 2% and 90% were in the top 10%.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info, Xiggi.</p>
<p>Calmom- sounds like your concern for your D's chances would make her a good candidate for a Stats Evaluation. For the price, it's a good deal and they can realistically help her set her goals.</p>