diverse freshman class in history
This week Yale is welcoming to campus its most diverse freshman class in the
University’s history.
T H I S
Over 39% of the members of the Yale College Class of 2011 have identified
themselves as members of minority ethnic and racial groups, a record proportion
for a freshman class.
The new freshman class also includes the highest proportion in recent years of
students who intend to pursue studies in science and engineering, with about
37% of the entering freshmen indicating one of these areas as a primary
interest.
“Our outreach to minorities and disadvantaged students, as well as to students
with strong records of achievement in the sciences, produced record numbers of
outstanding applicants,” says Jeff Brenzel, dean of undergraduate admissions. “We simply could not be more pleased with the results in both areas.”
For the third straight year, over 70% of the students offered admission to Yale
accepted, marking the continuation of Yale’s appeal to the best students in the nation and the world, notes Brenzel. The
new class has representatives from all 50 states and 42 foreign nations.
“We deeply appreciate the Yale students, faculty and alumni who reach out on our
behalf to admitted students,” says Brenzel. “Our entire Yale community communicates with passion and conviction about the
incomparable educational experience available here.”
Jeremiah Quinlan, director of outreach and recruitment, says, “Our office makes a continuous and energetic effort to reach each new generation
of high school graduates. Admissions officers are on the road throughout the
spring, summer and fall to give public presentations in many hundreds of cities
and schools across the country and around the world. We also employ over 4,000
volunteer alumni interviewers, plus hundreds of Yale students as tour guides,
pen pals, callers, bloggers, interviewers, presenters and hosts for visiting
students.”
A large contingent of Yale faculty from every department also makes itself
available for April’s Bulldog Days, which brought a record number of 1,077 admitted students for a
three-day stay on the campus and a sampling of all things Yale.
“The financial aid office stays open for long days, the students open their dorm
rooms, student organizations put themselves on display and the faculty make
themselves available with a generosity that goes far beyond what most colleges
can muster,” says Quinlan. “We receive extraordinary help in exhibiting Yale’s remarkable culture of citizenship and community.”
Yale also remains fully committed to ensuring that academically qualified
students of all income levels have the opportunity to attend. For 40 years, the
admissions office has not asked whether a family can pay for a Yale education
when deciding whether to make an offer of admission, and Yale supplies the full
amount of aid required to meet the determined financial need for every single
undergraduate.
Over 42% of Yale’s undergraduates receive need-based scholarship aid from the University itself,
and an additional 22% receive financial assistance from other sources. Yale
’s annual budget for financial aid to undergraduates is over $60 million, more
than double the $30 million that was expended as recently as 2000, and the
average Yale grant to financial aid students for 2006-2007 was more than
$24,000. Families with incomes below $45,000 per year are no longer asked to
make any contribution to the cost of a Yale education, and the average
indebtedness at graduation for Yale students who use loans to help finance
their educations has fallen below $13,000, about half the national average at
private colleges and universities.
Recognizing the importance of globalization, Yale also provides grant support
for summer study and internships abroad. Grants cover not only the full cost of
a summer experience, but also the amount that students would otherwise be
expected to contribute from summer earnings, freeing every Yale undergraduate
on financial aid to undertake an international experience.
W E E K ' SS T O R I E S
Gift of $10 million to support work of China Law Center
Studies cast new light on problems, treatment of childhood obesity
Bias against overweight youths can have lasting impact
Weight management program shown to cut diabetes risk
Students' summer projects designed to serve city's needs
Tennis center being transformed into state-of-the-art facility
SCHOOL OF MEDICINE NEWS
Yale scientists part of 'dream team' investigating hypertension
New genome technology can identify patients with . . .
Study: Virus has 'bystander' effect
Phyical conditioning shown to improve older drivers' on-road skills
Conference speakers examined the 'ethical dance' . . .
Paul Genecin reappointed as director of YUHS
Postdoc honored with fellowship for research on drug delivery
Architecture School to begin new year in temporary home with talk, exhibit
Exhibit showcases diverse incarnations of Kipling's books
Manuscripts provide window into pre-20th-century Islamic life, learning
Alumni earn Yale Medals for service to their alma mater
Newly renovated Cross Campus Library to open in the fall
Exhibit highlights career of artist who 'probed the nation's ills'
Pilot Pen tournament to bring top-ranked players to Elm City
Ira Millstein is again named 'Corporate Lawyer of the Year'
MacMillan Center awards book prize to French professor Maurice Samuel
In Memoriam: Peter H. Marris
Memorial service for Helen Simpson Culler
Documentary on the creation of Peabody Museum's Torosaurus . . .
Yale Books in Brief
Campus Notes
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