Applicant pool makes waves

GAMBIER, Ohio (July 7, 2003)

Only ten percent of the roughly two thousand four-year colleges in America accept fewer than half the students who apply. This year, Kenyon entered the ranks of those extremely selective colleges with an admittance rate below 50 percent.

As a record 3,356 students applied to the College in 2003, the selectivity rate for Kenyon's Class of 2007 fell to 44 percent-a 22-percent drop over the course of just two years.

Improvement in the academic quality of applicants accompanied the increase in quantity. The average SAT verbal score went up ten points, from 671 to 681, with a greater climb in average SAT math score, from 648 to 661. The reported high-school grade-point average rose from 3.73 to 3.81.

"It looks like Kenyon is on a roll," says M. Beverly Morse, the director of admissions, who served as acting dean for the 2002-03 academic year. "The efforts of the admissions staff were aided by a wonderful new admissions video and the boost we got from being designated a 'hot college' by Kaplan/Newsweek and a 'cool college' by Seventeen magazine. Moving into the top thirty in the US News and World Report rankings was another plus."

Total minority applications increased by one-third, including African-American, Asian-American, Latino/Hispanic-American, Native American, and multiracial students.

Early-decision applications rose slightly. Admitted early-decision applicants will make up 30 percent of the Class of 2007, up from 26 percent last year.

Student-athletes interested in playing for a varsity team at Kenyon applied in greater numbers, 616 this year as against 539 last year.

Geographic diversity remains strong as applications increased nationwide. Applications from international students swelled by a stunning 31 percent, reversing a one-year dip in applicants from foreign shores following the events of September 11, 2001.