Duke's Class of 2011 Will Be Its Most Selective, Diverse -- And Larger Than Expected
The Class of 2011 is now expected to include between 1,687 and 1,710 students
More applicants than expected have said "yes" to Duke University's offer of admission for the Class of 2011.
Christoph Guttentag, the dean of undergraduate admissions, expected the percentage of students accepting offers of admission, or "yield," to increase slightly this year from less than 41 percent in 2006.
The actual increase -- - to about 42 percent -- was greater than predicted. Instead of totaling 1,665, the Class of 2011 is now expected to include between 1,687 and 1,710 students.
"By the rating system we use -- which takes into account not only academic credentials but also extracurricular activities, letters of recommendations, interviews and the application essay -- this class is even stronger than last year's superb class," Guttentag wrote in a memo to Provost Peter Lange, the university's top academic officer.
Duke received 19,206 applications, the second highest in university history. The applications broke a number of admissions records, including the numbers from students of color, international students, North Carolina residents and children of Duke alumni.
Duke admitted just 21 percent of the applicants, the lowest "admit percentage" in its history.
In his memo to Lange, Guttentag also noted that the Class of 2011 will be Duke's most diverse to date.
"A record 44 percent of the incoming class represents students of color, including 500 Asian students, 105 Hispanic students and 156 African-American students," Guttentag wrote.
A copy of his memo to Lange follows below:
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To: Peter Lange
From: Christoph Guttentag
Date: June 11, 2007
Subject: Class of 2011 admissions
Now that we have concluded our process of admitting students from the waiting list for next fall's entering class, I thought it would be worthwhile to provide you with a summary of what the class will look like.
As you know, the 19,206 applications we received this year was the second highest total in Duke's history. We set records in the number of applicants to Trinity College; the number of Asian, Hispanic, African-American, and Native American applicants; international applicants; applicants from North Carolina, and applicants who are children of Duke alumni.
The admissions process was also the most selective in our history. We admitted just 21 percent of our applicants, with a goal of creating an entering class of 1,665 first-year students.
While we expected our matriculant yield -- the percentage of students accepting our offer of admission -- to increase this year, the yield has been even higher than expected, and our entering class will exceed our target. At this point, my best estimate is that we will enroll between 1,687 and 1,710 first-year students.
By the rating system we use -- which takes into account not only academic credentials but also extracurricular activities, letters of recommendation, interviews, and the application essay -- this class is even stronger than last year's superb class, and is one of the strongest on record. It is also the most diverse class in Duke's history -- a record 44 percent of the incoming class represents students of color, including 500 Asian students, 105 Hispanic students, and 156 African-American students. The 138 international students are also a record number, as are the 230 legacy students. And like last year, students with combined SAT Critical Reading and Math scores of 1500 or above represent almost a third of the incoming class, with this year's total of 558 the second highest ever.
Beyond ethnicity, we have significant geographic diversity in this year's class as well. As usual, North Carolina is the state with the greatest representation in the class, followed by the same three states as last year -- New York, Florida, and California. The next five states are New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland, Texas, and Massachusetts. Altogether, we have students enrolling from 45 of the 50 states and from 47 foreign countries.
As usual, a small number of admitted students may decide during the summer to defer or decline their place in the class, but their numbers are typically too small to affect these totals meaningfully.