Autumn 2007: Campus Beat

Rylee Sommers-Flanagan in front of the DUC

Rylee Sommers-Flanagan

Jon Rou

Finding a Perfect Fit

Emory’s most diverse and selective first-year class in history

By Mary J. Loftus

Rylee Sommers-Flanagan 11C of Missoula, Montana, fell for Emory on her first visit. “The location, the campus, the people, the ambiance—all of it really just fit me,” says Sommers-Flanagan, a Woodruff scholar and political science/economics double major. “Emory has a sense of intellectual integrity and curiosity that truly corresponds with the expectations I hold for myself.”

Sommers-Flanagan played soccer, participated in speech and debate, and was a U.S. Senate page during high school. She spent the year after graduation volunteering with HealthCorps. “Right now I see myself going to law school,” says the nineteen-year-old, who hopes to join Emory’s debate team, the Barkley Forum. “I’ve been interested in national politics and diplomacy for a long time.”

As the Class of 2011 settles in to classes, hangs out in the newly refurbished Cox Hall food court, and explores the ever-expanding campus, Emory is celebrating its most selective and international class in history.

“We’re excited about both the quality and tremendous diversity of this class,” says Emory College Dean of Admission Jean Jordan. “They will add much to the Emory community over the next four years and beyond.”

The college received a record number of applicants, up 8.1 percent from last year. Minority and international students make up 53 percent of the class, an 8 percent increase.

Oxford College also saw its largest pool of applicants, up 20.7 percent from last year, and enrolled 382 students. Its newest class is extremely diverse as well: 16 percent African American, 26 percent Asian American, 4 percent Hispanic, and 1 percent Native American. The students represent thirty-one states, and 4 percent are international.

Emory College Class of 2011 at a glance: