The 1,064 students who plan to enroll as members of the Class of 1997 form "the strongest academic profile that Dartmouth has ever had," according to Dean of Admissions Karl Furstenberg.
Furstenberg attributed the incoming class' strength to the increase in the total number of applications received this year. Changes to the admissions process sparked a jump in the applicant pool to 8,586 from 8,070. The size of Dartmouth's applicant pool had hovered at about 8,000 for the past two years.
Mean SAT scores for the Class of 1997 were 625 on the verbal section and 691 on the math section, while median scores were 640 verbal and 710 math. Both sets of scores are higher than those of the Class of 1996.
Gender equity will also increase with the Class of 1997. Males comprise 52.8 percent while females make up 47.2 percent, the closest Dartmouth has ever come to parity between the sexes in any class.
