Overall applications to the Class of 2008 are down nominally to 11,700 -- a decrease of less than 1 percent from last year's record high. Though the majority of these high school seniors will have to wait until April to receive their admissions decision, a few hundred lucky and exceptional students will find out by the end of February that Dartmouth wants them.
Each year the College sends 400 to 500 exceptional students "likely letters" well in advance of the April decision deadline. Though Dartmouth cannot officially offer admission to students until the mutual Ivy League decision deadline, likely letters inform students that they will be offered admission in April.
"We send likely letters to students we identify as exceptionally strong and who we are really interested in: the academic superstars," Furstenberg said. "Once we know that these students are sure to get in, it seems foolish to sit on that information."
The letters are beneficial to both the students and the College, according to Furstenberg. The letters "reduce anxiety" for students are already stressed by the college application process, while also giving students more time to think about Dartmouth as a legitimate option. Students who know that Dartmouth wants them before they hear from other schools are likely to think more seriously about the College, he said.
The letters are sent out in waves, as "absolutely clear-cut" acceptances emerge from the applicant pool.
"We review applications totally at random," Furstenberg said. "So as candidates for likely letters emerge, we send them their letter. The three waves are not organized starting with the best."
Furstenberg cautioned, however, that each year many exceptional students are not sent likely letters despite having extremely strong applications.
Even though the number of overall applicants was down slightly, not all numbers were down for the Class of 2008. Applications from international students reached an all-time high with 1,618 foreign students applying for admission, constituting 13.8 percent of the applicant pool.
Furstenberg credited the steady increase of international students over the past four years to Dartmouth's "increased Internet presence." International applications have increased by more than 25 percent since the Class of 2005 applied for admission.
"Information about Dartmouth is more accessible to students over the Internet, so more international students are finding out about us," Furstenberg said.
Meanwhile, the number of students of color applying to Dartmouth showed a slight decrease similar in proportion to the overall drop. 2,793 students of color applied for admission into the Class of 2008, a decrease of 130 minority applicants from last year. This year minorities composed 23.9 percent of the total applicant pool. Not all numbers were down, however.
Asian American and multi-racial applicants reached record-highs, while the number of Latino applicants was second only to last year's record. African American and Native American numbers dropped slightly this year, composing 3.7 and 1.5 percent of the overall applicant pool.
Minority applications at many other selective schools across the country saw a much larger decline this year, causing Furstenberg to wonder whether there is "something going on nationally" in response to the University of Michigan Supreme Court decisions. The decision affirmed the ability of schools to use race as a factor in admissions decisions, but banned point-based or quota systems to do so.
"It's hard to understand whether this is a direct fallout from the Michigan decisions or not," Furstenberg said. "Our results do track pretty well with other schools though."
The University of Michigan saw a 24 percent decrease in minority applications this year, according to Furstenberg.
The number of applications from abroad was not the only record-high for the Class of 2008. Average SAT scores for the applicants were 10 point higher than the previous high set last year. The applicant pool averaged 681 on the verbal section and 702 on the math portion of the SAT, for a total of 1383.
Average SAT scores for the applicant pool have increased every year for the past four years, a trend that represents an increasingly strong -- not just larger -- applicant pool, according to Furstenberg.
This year's legacy applicants also represented a four-year high with 364 legacies applying for consideration, comprising 3.1 percent of the total applicant pool.
Geographical and high-school breakdowns remained consistent with previous years, 26. 1 percent of applicants hailing from the mid-Atlantic, 18. 1 percent from New England and 18.6 percent from the west. Public school applicants comprised 62.7 percent of the applications and 61.6 percent of the pool expressed interest in financial aid.
