Admissions Office Announces Class of 2015 Acceptance Rate

By Ana Kakkar | April 12, 2011 at 8:05 am | News | 11 comments | |

Acceptances for Claremont McKenna College rolled out at the beginning of April and suggest that next year’s freshman class may be CMC’s most impressive and selective class yet. The Forum spoke with Associate Dean of Admissions Adam Miller to get the scoop on the admitted students for Fall 2011.  Here’s what we found out:

 

Early Decision, Regular Decision and Yield

CMC received 418 early decision applicants of which 147 were accepted for an early admit rate of 35%.

Miller explained that a “fewer percentage of people were accepted early, but more applied, so a greater percentage of the total class was accepted early. That meant that we could accept a fewer number of people regular decision.”

 

Composition of Admitted Students

Of the admitted 619 students:

• The ratio of men to women is approximately equal.

• California is the most represented state, followed by Washington, Oregon, Massachusetts, Texas, New York, and Illinois.

• Approximately 14-16% of the class is expected to be international.

• 85% of the accepted students graduated in the top 10% of their high school class.

• Almost half of the class committed with binding Early Decision.

• 472 students were accepted regular decision, and of these admits, the Admissions Office expects a yield close to 33.7%, that of last year’s admitted students.

Acceptance Rates & SAT Scores

This year, the Office of Admissions received 4,481 total applications, of which we accepted 619 students.  Compared with last year’s 4,264 total applications and 732 admitted students, the admission rate dropped a considerable 3.4 percentage points from 17.2% in 2010 to 13.8% in 2011.

An increase in this year’s applications also saw an increase in average SAT scores.  While last year’s class averaged a 700 critical reading and 710 math, the 2011 admitted students have a slightly higher average of 710 critical reading and 720 math.  However, Admissions expects the final yield to match last year’s scores.

 

Admissions Outlook

“A lot of applicants who may have been admitted in another year, just weren’t this year,” explains Miller. As our national and global presence continues to grow, Miller notes that he “doesn’t see the level of interest leveling off anytime soon.” The increase in applications and competitiveness suggests that not only more students but also more high-achieving students are considering CMC for their college experience.

“The caliber of students is continuing to get better,” said Miller, noting that the incoming freshman are “smarter and more talented than before.”  Put simply, explains Miller, “CMC is in an enviable position.”

 

For accuracy’s sake, the Office of Admissions prefers not to give any more specifics on the demographics and make up of the incoming freshman class until students are committed.  Expect to see these details soon on the Forum.