Class of 2011 Arrives

GAMBIER, Ohio (August 27, 2007) Heat and humidity moved Opening Convocation festivities indoors to the KAC this year, where the 463 students in Kenyon's newest class were officially welcomed to the College on Thursday, August 23.

The Class of 2011 faced stiffer competition than any previous class to gain admission to Kenyon. The applicant pool swelled to 4,627 in the last year, leading to a historically low admittance rate of 29 percent, three points lower than last year. The yield, or percentage of admitted students who enrolled, increased to 34 percent, up three percentage points over the last two years. Higher yield is widely considered to be an index of a college's increased desirability in the eyes of admitted students.

Last year Kenyon experienced a 25 percent surge in early decision applications, and this year saw about the same number of early decision applicants as last year. Thirty-eight percent of the class, or 177 students, were admitted from the early decision pool.

Although final statistics on the makeup of the class won't be available for a few weeks, as of summer's end the admissions office reported notable gains in Hispanic-American recruitment this year, with a doubling of enrollment in the current first-year class to 18. Minorities overall represent 14 percent of the class, the same percentage as last year. African-American enrollment decreased from 22 to 17 students, while Asian-American enrollment held steady at 24. The class includes three Arab Americans, an ethnic group represented for the first time in recent years, as well as three Native Americans and one multicultural student.

The class has impressive academic credentials. A full 63 percent earned a high school grade-point average of 3.7 or above, with 37 percent averaging 4.0 or higher. Nearly three-quarters ranked in the top 10 percent of their high school class, with about one-fourth in the top 1 percent. They have taken an average of four AP courses and four science units. Nearly 60 percent have studied calculus.

Critical reading and writing scores on the SAT improved slightly, with the middle 50 percent achieving in the range of 630-730 (critical reading) and 630-710 (writing). In math, the range was identical to last year, with the middle 50 percent scoring 610-690. The middle range of ACT scores was 28-32, a point higher than last year.

Kenyon's top five overlap schools this year, in order, were: Oberlin, Carleton, Middlebury, Bowdoin, and Grinnell colleges.

The class skews female, with 54 percent women, 46 percent men. Forty-five percent of the class hails from the Middle Atlantic states or New England. Twenty-six percent come from the Midwest, with 15 percent of the class made up of Ohio residents. Nearly 20 percent have made their way to Gambier from the West and Southwest combined, while 10 percent attended high school in the South.

The incoming class brings increasingly international flavor to the Hill. Approximately 10 percent of the class have international status, up 2 percent from last year, including 19 non-U.S. citizens, 15 who hold dual citizenship, five permanent residents, and seven U.S. citizens living outside the U.S.