As of June 1, 651 students had paid deposits to enroll in the Class of 2015.
The proportion of students ranking in the top 10 percent of their high-school class is 66 percent, and the mean SAT score (critical reading and math) is 1290, the best ever for an incoming class. The middle 50-percent range for critical reading and math is 1210-1390. The middle 50-percent range for critical reading, math, and writing is 1800-2070.
The College received 5,716 applications. The acceptance rate is 40 percent, and the proportion of admitted students enrolling, or yield, is 28 percent. Students enrolling through early decision make up 48 percent of the class.
The students come from around the United States and the world. U.S. students come from 33 states and the District of Columbia. There are also international students representing 35 countries of citizenship. In all, 39 percent of the students are from outside the Pennsylvania-New Jersey-New York tri-state area.
The class includes 47 percent women. Students of color make up 22 percent of the class. This includes 111 U.S. minority students (44 Hispanic/Latino Americans, 31 African Americans, 35 Asian Americans, and 1 Native American) and 29 foreign nationals of color.
Just over half of the students (52 percent) say they intend to pursue a bachelor of arts (A.B.) degree, 26 percent a bachelor of science (B.S.) in engineering, and 22 percent a B.S. in the sciences. The College offers the A.B. in 34 fields, including engineering, and the B.S. in nine areas of science and four fields of engineering.
Eighty-two of the most outstanding members of the Class of 2015 — 13 percent of the class — have been named Marquis Scholars and will benefit from special educational opportunities and scholarships awarded for academic merit.
It’s expected that the final count for the class will be 625 members. New Student Orientation, themed “Righting Civil Wrongs,” starts Aug. 25, and classes begin Aug. 29. The summer reading assignment for the class is The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot.
“We try to identify an orientation theme that can provide bridges to important events and discussions already under way on campus in order to welcome our newest community members into our vibrant intellectual life,” says Hannah Stewart-Gambino, dean of the College. “The book has very strong currents of race, class, gender, and access to education, as well as to basic health care.”