Class of 2007 arrives

GAMBIER, Ohio (August 22, 2003) Orientation begins Sunday, August 24, for first-year students as 457 new students arrive on campus. Classes begin on Thursday, August 28.

A record-breaking number of students applied for admission to the Class of 2007. The number ballooned to 3,356, compared to 2,838 last year, and 2,002 the year before. The selectivity rate for the Class of 2007 fell to 46 percent, from 52 percent last year and 66 percent the year before. Thirty percent of admitted students chose to enroll at Kenyon.

Academic quality has risen along with the volume of applications. The class includes 43 National Merit Scholars, an all-time record for the College. The average combined SAT score was 1322, with the average ACT score holding steady at 30. Over half the class graduated in the top 10 percent of their high-school class, and the average reported high-school grade-point average was 3.8.

The class is composed of 54 percent women and 46 percent men, representing a trend toward greater gender balance over the past two years. Minority students make up approximately 10 percent of the entering class. Twenty-five members of the class are first-generation college students. There are 67 legacies, loosely defined as those having relatives who attend or have attended Kenyon. Nearly 30% of the class applied early decision, an all-time high for the College.

Geographic diversity among the first-year class remains strong, with 41 states and more than a dozen foreign countries represented. Approximately 14 percent hail from New England, 24 percent from the Middle Atlantic states, 13 percent from the South, 17 percent from the Midwest excluding Ohio, 21 percent from Ohio, and 10 percent from the West and Southwest combined.