Record Number of Applications Received for the Class of 2008

Admissions statistics at Kenyon this year have broken records on several counts. Besides receiving an all-time high number of applications leading to an all-time low admittance rate, the Office of Admissions has composed its newest class with equal numbers of men and women as well as increased diversity.

Kenyon received nearly 3,800 applications this year, an increase of 13 percent from last year. Over the past four years, the College has seen an extraordinary 80 percent rise in applications. The admittance rate fell to a record low of 38 percent, down from 44 percent last year and 66 percent four years ago. The percentage of admitted students choosing to enroll at Kenyon rose to a four-year high of 32.5 percent.

According to Dean of Admissions Jennifer Britz, "We were taken by surprise by the increase in interest--in terms of regular decision as well as the dramatic increase in early decision applicants. Clearly, Kenyon is the first choice of increasing numbers of top students."

Indeed, the College has seen noteworthy growth in its early decision program. Early decision applicants increased 28 percent this year over last year, registering a 52 percent increase over the last four years. Early decision applicants will compose 36 percent of the Class of 2008, a historic high.

Nearly equal numbers of men and women have enrolled in Kenyon's latest class. Of the 473 applicants who have enrolled (a number expected to settle between 440 and 455 by August), 234 were men and 239 were women. This nearly 50-50 gender ratio compares with 54 percent women and 46 percent men in the Class of 2007.

Although bringing class gender into balance is a difficult task for selective liberal-arts colleges currently, the admissions office set gender equity as one of its goals and met it.

In further positive news, the College will see a significant increase in racial diversity in the Class of 2008. Students of color compose 13 percent of the class, up from less than 10 percent in recent years.

The academic qualifications of the class remain high. Average SAT scores of 673 verbal and 648 math are virtually identical to last year's class, as is the average ACT score of 29. The average unweighted high-school GPA was 3.73, with 48 percent of incoming first-year students graduating in the top 10 percent of their class.