Despite initial disappointment that Dartmouth was the only Ivy League school to see a drop in applications, the Class of 2005 could shape up to be the largest and among the most diverse in College history, according to preliminary enrollment figures released by the Admissions Office.
So far, a record 1180 students out of the 2220 accepted have enrolled for next year, an unusually high 53 percent yield in which Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Karl Furstenberg seemed to take particular pride.
"We've had a really strong response," Furstenberg beamed yesterday in an interview. "We're basically more popular."
Although Furstenberg anticipates the number of incoming students to dwindle down to roughly 1120 by next fall, a shrinking process that occurs every year, he expects the proportions of the class to remain constant.
The 335 students of color, who make up 28.4 percent of the preliminary class, represent a jump from last year's numbers, when only 22.8 percent of the Class of 2004 were minorities. But the Class of 2005 is not quite as diverse as the current sophomores, 28.8 percent of whom are of color.
"Any take on the student of color results will show we've had an amazing year," Furstenberg continued. "We have the highest number of African-Americans in six or seven years, and the highest number of Asian-Americans in Dartmouth history."
Those figures come on the heels of a marked decline in the number of black applicants, down 33 from the Class of 2004.
But just as the number of Asian-Americans applying to the College increased significantly this year, so too did the amount that decided to enroll. Asian-Americans comprise 12.1 percent of the Class of 2005, compared to 8.4 percent of the Class of 2004.
"That's going to send a very positive message to the outside Asian community," Furstenberg said.
Furstenberg attributed this year's enrollment success to a combination of factors, including the improvement in the school's financial aid program, the success of the prospective weekend, and what he described as the widespread student condemnation of Zeta Psi fraternity.
Although the SAT verbal mean dropped five points to 703, a change Furstenberg attributed to the rise in students for whom English is a second language, the SAT math mean stayed constant at 712.
"As you substantially increase diversity, that will sometimes have a downward effect on SATs," Furstenberg said.
The enrollment of 74 international students, or 6.3 percent of the class, is significantly higher than that of the past three years, when the level had not risen above 5 percent.
