The incoming Class of 1998 will have the closest ratio of men to women in the College's history and a higher percentage of minorities than last year.
This year the College accepted two more female students than males, but 34 more men than women decided to enroll, making the class 48.4 percent women.
The incoming class currently has 23.5 percent minority students -- up from 22.8 percent last year -- and Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Karl Furstenberg said he anticipates the number to increase once students with deadline extensions return their responses. The deadline was May 1.
Of the 2,153 students admitted, 1,044 have accepted the invitation to matriculate thus far. This year's freshman class consists of 1,087 students.
Furstenberg said the College is still awaiting close to 300 responses, and that he expects to approach the target number of 1,060 students.
The average academic index has risen by one point this year, reflecting overall higher standardized test scores and class rank. The mean Scholastic Achievement Test scores for the enrolled students are 635 verbal and 694 math.
"Certainly the academic credentials have jumped up a level," Furstenberg said. The number of valedictorians in the incoming class has jumped 4.8 percent from last year to 28.7 percent.
Just more than half of the incoming students are planning to major in the sciences, a 2.6 percent increase from this year's freshman class. Furstenberg noted that many more students coming from public schools are interested in the sciences.
In addition, "the number of female recruited athletes is equal to the number of male athletes, exclusive of football," Furstenberg wrote in a statement to The Dartmouth.
