The College's Class of 2008 is now cast in place, as 1,095 students have submitted letters of intent to matriculate at Dartmouth come Fall term. The number matriculating came very near to the admissions office's expectations, marking the third time in the last four years the yield has been 51.1 percent.
Every year, the admissions office expects a yield just above 50 percent to fill, but not exceed, the capacity of the new first-year class, according to Dean of Admissions Karl Furstenberg. The yield number represents the percentage of students offered admission who accepted.
Though the 1,095 students would make for a class slightly larger than the 1,070-student goal, Furstenberg said he expects some normal attrition over the summer as students "defer enrollment or change plans."
The slightly overfilled class is, however, bad news for the students on the admissions waitlist. Furstenberg said he does not expect any waitlist activity because the yield was so strong.
The yield numbers also provide a first look at the composition of next year's freshman class.
"Overall, it has been a great year," Furstenberg said. "The Class of 2008 looks very diverse as well as exceptional academically."
The mean SAT scores jumped a remarkable 16 points to 1433 -- 713 Verbal and 720 Math. The median SAT was 1460 -- 730 on both sections. Of the matriculating students who went to a high school that ranked, 88.9 percent were in the top 10 percent in their class and 28.1 percent were valedictorians.
The diversity of the class is also very high, though down across the board from the Class of 2007. Additionally, a record 7.2 percent of the class is international. Still, 30.4 percent of the matriculants are minorities, compared to 32.8 percent last year. In the projected incoming class, 7.2 percent of students are African American, 6.1 percent Latino, 3.6 percent Native American, and 12.6 Asian American.
Legacies comprise 9.6 percent of the matriculating students, at just over 100, while the majority of students -- 63.7 percent -- come from public high schools.
Finally, slightly fewer students will be receiving financial aid compared to the last two years. For the Class of 2008, 44.1 percent are expected to be receiving financial aid, for an estimated total of $11.7 million in scholarship assistance and an average scholarship of $24,300, Furstenberg said.
