Early applicant pool sees decline
The number of early decision applications for the Class of 2017 declined for the first time in several years for undetermined reasons.
By Ester Cross, The Dartmouth Staff
Published on Tuesday, November 13, 2012
The pool of early decision applicants for the Class of 2017 consists of 1,526 students, marking a 12.5 percent decrease from last year’s pool of 1,744 early applicants, according to Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Maria Laskaris. This year’s pool also includes an increased number of applicants from diverse backgrounds and higher overall standardized test scores, Laskaris said.
The drop in applicant numbers marks a change for the College, which has seen consistently increasing numbers of early decision applicants over the past five years. The last decline occurred with the Class of 2011, when the number of early applicants fell by 2 percent from the previous year.
“Our numbers do fluctuate from year to year, and the composition of every applicant pool is going to fluctuate from year to year as well,” Laskaris said. “We are only at the very early stages of it so it’s a little hard to speculate where it will all come out.”
While the early decision pool has seen a marked decrease, the regular decision pool is consistent with the number of applications submitted last year at this time, Laskaris said.
It is too soon to judge why the application numbers are dramatically down, according to Laskaris.
In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, the early decision deadline was extended from Nov. 1 to Nov. 10 to accommodate students affected by the storm.
“We’ve tried to be very communicative with students who we knew were in affected areas,” Laskaris said. “I do think kids have been able to get their power back, schools have been able to come back in session so that students who have wanted to apply have been able to submit materials.”
The Admissions Office will continue accepting early decision applications from students who provide valid reasons for the delay until students are notified about their acceptance in December, Laskaris said. As a result, the pool is expected to grow in the next few weeks.
The early decision pool features more international applicants than last year, though the increase is not as significant as those seen at other institutions throughout the country.
The number of international students at American institutions of higher education increased by 5.7 percent between 2011 and 2012, according to Inside Higher Education.
While the early decision pool comprises between 6 and 7 percent of the total applicant pool, the College has typically accepted 35 to 40 percent of early decision applicants. The percentage of students accepted varies as the reading process reveals the “qualitative aspects” that qualify applicants for admission, Laskaris said.
Since rising costs of higher education reflect a major concern for parents and students applying for admission, the Admissions Office has geared its communication efforts toward providing information about the College’s affordability through the use of social media, web publications, visits to high schools and campus presentations, Laskaris said.
Nearly 60 to 65 percent of the total applicant pool is expected to apply for financial aid.
More details about the applicant pool and the Class of 2017 will be available once regular decision applications are accepted on Jan. 1, Laskaris said.
“We have a long ways to go before we hit our regular decision deadline,” Laskaris said. “I am very confident that next year’s class will be every bit as talented, diverse and outstanding as the classes that have come before it.”
The number of early decision applicants at Brown University increased by 1 percent this year, The Brown Daily Herald reported. The University of Pennsylvania saw a record high in its early decision applicants, with a 5.6 percent increase over last year, The Daily Pennsylvanian reported. Early decision statistics for Cornell University and Columbia University have not yet been reported. Harvard University, Princeton University and Yale University all have non-binding early action programs and have not reported application numbers as of press time.
The Dartmouth Editorial Board and reporters bear some responsibility for the decline in Early Admission candidates. And it’s not a good sign when Dartmouth’s statistics are on the decline while Brown and Penn are rising. Every day another negative article about the school, which is ironic given Dartmouth’s consistently high freshmen retention rates and rankings like #3 in the Princeton Review’s Quality of Life survey. The Dartmouth is out of touch with the student body and a negative force at the school. The Kim editorial with its backhanded slap at Dartmouth’s student-athletes should raise student ire. The constant effort to dismantle the Greek system so other groups can be strengthened. Enough already. Take some pride in your wonderful school. The Dartmouth Review should morph itself into a daily newspaper to counteract the negative force of The Dartmouth.
By Anonymous on Nov 13 | 10:09 am
Or maybe people think that Dartmouth just won’t be the same now that Jim Kim is gone. Hahahahahahaha!
By On and on and on Nov 13 | 10:34 am
Hope you’re joking. The d has recently gone negative, god knows why, but it’s 9/10 times the college s best pr source
By @anonymous 10:09 on Nov 13 | 10:54 am
The Dartmouth Review is no more positive a news source, and really isn’t better quality. It doesn’t even pose to be unbiased, and while there’s a place for that, it shouldn’t be the main news source.
I don’t think that The D should be more positive, either. If applications are on the decline, we should be addressing the problem, not the symptom. Administration largely does not address the major issues on campus in a real way, as we have seen several times over the last year that I’ve been here. Administration seems more intent to protect the school’s reputation than to acknowledge that there are problems and address them. You can make 100 committees, but at the end of the day, talk is only talk.
By ‘15 on Nov 13 | 1:00 pm
no reference to the hazing scandal?
By seriously on Nov 13 | 1:01 pm
seems pretty obvious to me that this is lohse-related
By Anonymous on Nov 13 | 2:42 pm
A drop in applications by about a few percentage points isn’t enough to indicate any correlation to the current sentiment regarding the College, but a 12.5% decrease is more than enough to point out that the American people aren’t fooled by the brochure images depicting scholarship and inquiry.
The high school students understand what it will mean to associate with the Dartmouth brand in the future. They aren’t dumb. The school has become sort of a poster child for corporate interests, with the recent events being sort of a tenable explanation for how the financial and social elite develop during the most formative years of their lives.
The idea that any one person’s words can affect such a massive change in sentiment is wrong. The specific details, likely embellished, regarding isolated events at our school matter not in the eyes of an outsider. No, what is most concerning is the idea that the artistic and the esoteric take an incredible backseat to a culture of conformity and a deference to power structures typically viewed as threatening to moral autonomy and intellectuals.
It is the idea that we do not have the best interests of the American people outside of our circle in mind, that perpetuates a misunderstanding of our motivations. Instead of asking, “Who do we blame for these results,” we need to figure out how we can restore people’s respect and trust in our institution.
By Andrew Pham ‘13 on Nov 13 | 4:43 pm
Two words: Goldman Snacks.
By The reason is obvious on Nov 13 | 5:12 pm
the greek system is to blame. it’s too pervasive and many many top high-school students are put off by it, lured instead to less greek-dominated peers. so dartmouth too often becomes back up and not top choice, except among early decision applicants——-where a significant drop in numbers doesn’t bode well. Nor does the significant drop in yield among RD apps in the spring. Time for dartmouth to pick up the cows tail and face the problem squarely: dilute the greek system, move to residential college system. if the college did that it would be second to none. it’s not goldman. it’s not corporate affiliation. if it were the other ivies would suffer. and that isn’t happening. this is a classic case of collective denial. alums love the college, with good reason. to continue to love it, learn to love change.
By anon on Nov 14 | 12:53 am
I should clarify that it is not corporate affiliation per se, but a corporate mentality which stifles moral autonomy. It is true that other elite schools exhibit that mindset, but Dartmouth is just the most visible in terms of perverting scholarship. The other schools have at least displayed a small potential for self-criticism and questioning of structures. But our response to recent events have shown the rest of the world that we have no interest in changing our disposition to reflect the concerns of the other, and that we are simply out of touch with the people.
Other schools possess anemic structures. Princeton’s eating clubs and Cornell’s greek system, which has actually had reports of deaths from hazing, are two examples that come to mind. I don’t even think people would have a problem with our power structures specifically if they actually sought to rectify our relationship with people outside of Dartmouth, through promoting a culture of inquiry that is consistent with their needs.
The greek system itself is just the small picture. What it does to engender feelings of collective euphoria at the expense of creativity and moral autonomy, is something that needs to be addressed in a larger context.
By Andrew Pham ‘13 on Nov 14 | 4:08 am
Too many geeks, too much p.c.
By anon on Nov 14 | 1:06 pm
haha def too much pc
By jay on Nov 15 | 8:19 pm
Want to go to school where everyone is a “special” minority? PC, PR Dartmouth is for you. Get out in the NH woods and get together with your many new Communist friends. Tee Hee!!!!
By anon on Nov 16 | 2:27 pm
It’s official, Cornell is no longer the worst ivy. We are!
By BigGreenIsFinished on Nov 16 | 9:57 pm
wait, cornell’s an ivy?
By @BigGreenIsFinished on Nov 17 | 3:40 pm
start loving your college and only then will your college love you back – my previous guidance counselor used to say Dartmouth is the best place for me. i hope i get selected
By Shree Raj Shrestha on Nov 18 | 1:03 am
ED is not the way to go. Who wants to be roped into attending by Dec. 15? Switch to SCEA.
By VoxClamantis on Nov 18 | 12:58 pm
“Who wants to be roped into attending by Dec. 15?”
Let’s see. A bunch of jocks and full-price legacies and preppies with savvy counselors maybe.
By Anonymous on Nov 18 | 7:12 pm
I’m transferring out of this mess! Penn/Duke here I come!
By lol on Nov 20 | 12:37 am
Harvard and friends just started their early action programs, likely students looking at both schools wouldn’t ED at Dartmouth when they can hear back from EA Harvard and still apply RD if they don’t get in or change their minds. Most people don’t even know about our greek system when applying, I know I had no clue what it was like until orientation and beyond.
By anon on Nov 25 | 8:13 pm