The admissions office mailed acceptance letters to more than 1,800 high school seniors yesterday, admitting a smaller percentage of applicants than ever before, according to Director of Admissions and Financial Aid Karl Furstenberg.
Along with the 381 students accepted under the early decision plan, Dartmouth accepted 2,204 students, only 19 percent of the total number of applicants.
The admissions office received 11,398 applications this year, up from 10,006 last year. Furstenberg said this is the largest increase in applications of any school of Dartmouth's caliber.
Furstenberg said, "We are taking a stronger and stronger slice off the top" of the applicant pool.
The composition of the student pool who were accepted is much like that from previous years, he said.
But according to data released by the admissions office, 127 fewer minority students were accepted this year than last year. The College also accepted 150 more male students than female students this year.
Last year, the College admitted 657 minority students. Thirty-seven more males than females were accepted last year.
Furstenberg said the changes are minor fluctuations compared to the total number of students accepted.
He said it is difficult to accurately predict the composition of a freshman class before May 1, when high school seniors must tell the College they intend to matriculate.
It is "hard to predict who will come," Furstenberg said.
The admissions staff is "enormously impressed" with the students they accepted, Furstenberg said. He said they are "incredibly strong and amazing in their accomplishments."
Ninety-two percent of admitted students rank in the top 10 percent of their high school class, 31 percent are valedictorians and 12 percent are salutatorians, according to admissions office statistics.
The accepted students have a mean verbal Scholastic Achievement Test score of 715 on the re-centered scale, the same as last year.
The mean math score this year is 721, seven points higher than last year.
Two-thirds of accepted students are from public high schools, about 30 percent are from private schools and four percent come from parochial schools.
More accepted students come from the Mid-Atlantic region than from anywhere else in the country. New England is the second most represented region, followed by the West. Almost 140 students were accepted from foreign countries.
Dartmouth accepted 381 students under the early decision plan this year, compared to 330 last year, Furstenberg said.
He said other competitive schools, including Harvard University, Princeton University and Yale University, also admitted more students under the early decision plan this year.
Harvard and Princeton admitted 50 percent of their incoming freshman classes early decision, Furstenberg said.
He said many students apply early decision because they "get paranoid about getting into a competitive school."
The rumor that it is easier to get accepted applying early decision is only "marginally true," according to Furstenberg.
