Following a national trend of rising applications and falling admission rates, Duke issued acceptances this week to 22.5 percent of its regular decision pool, the lowest percentage in school history.
The acceptance of 3,059 high school seniors--in addition to 506 students admitted under the early decision process--to the Class of 2006 comes after a record year for applications. A total of 15,860 students applied for admission, about 90 percent of them in the regular process.
Christoph Guttentag, director of undergraduate admissions, was not available for comment, but said in a statement he was pleased with the process.
"One of the difficult parts of making admissions decisions on a pool of this size and scope is that we end up denying admission to students who we would have admitted just a few years ago," Guttentag said. "While we won't know until May just who will be enrolling at Duke, I know that this will be an entering class that will exemplify what we seek for Duke--students who have talents in many areas, who are committed to their communities and who can't wait to take advantage of what Duke can offer them."
Last year's acceptance rate was 24.5 percent. The number of applications this year was the most since 1987, when 15,120 students applied. The University hopes to enroll about 1,616 students for the Class of 2006, Guttentag said.
Other universities also showed a decrease in their acceptance rates. For example, Yale University accepted 13 percent of its applicants, compared to 13.5 percent last year. The University of Pennsylvania accepted 16.7 percent, down from 18.2 percent last year.
Duke's applicant pool this year was also one of the most diverse in school history, with a 9.5 percent increase over last year in students listing themselves as members of minority groups. Overall, about a third of applicants this year were minorities. The University did not, however, release the percentage of acceptances sent to minorities, leaving open the question of whether the diverse pool will translate to the freshman class.
Duke also received a record number of applications from international students--about 1,200--but the number of those admitted was not available. Guttentag attributed the increase to the offering of financial aid to international students for the first time.
Guttentag also said that overall, more students indicated they would apply for financial aid than in any other class in the previous five years. "Part of the reason for this, again, lies in the presence of international students who are applying for aid, and part of it is most likely the result of a weaker economy," he said.
The geographic distribution of acceptances remained largely the same, with the top-five states unchanged. North Carolina had the most admitted students, with 448. Florida had 289, New York 277, Texas 226 and California 211.
U-WIRE contributed to this story.
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