Test scores are up, credentials are more impressive. But what's different about this class is that, according to Dean of Admission Dan Walls, a higher percentage of students who were offered admission to the College chose to attend than in years past. For the first time in several years, the number of applications did not rise; those numbers stayed somewhat constant, with 9,650 applications last year and 9,500 this year. Of those 9,500, 51 percent were offered admission, up from last year's 49 percent.
"We felt that with the quality we were looking at, the yield would be lower based on previous years," said Walls. "What surprised us May 1 is that we essentially over-filled the class." The "yield," or the percentage of students offered admission who chose to come to Emory, increased 4 percent over last year, despite the increase in quality.
Normally, after students respond to the offer of admission, the admission office goes to the "wait list" to fill out the class. According to Walls, last year 125 students from the wait list were offered admission to complete the class. This year, the class will be slightly more than full even without going to the wait list. The target number for the incoming class is 1,120 students. As of May 19, approximately 1,300 students had accepted the offer of admission and paid their deposits. That number probably will drop over the summer to 1,175-1,200 due to students who put down deposits at more than one institution.
Walls hopes that the increase in yield is the "final piece of the puzzle" in Emory's admission efforts. As colleges try to increase the quality of their applicant pool, there is a typical pattern. "First," said Walls, "inquiries go up, then applications increase -- ours have been up since 1990. Then yield. We hope this year is the beginning of that trend."
"Obviously, there has been a lot of hard work. The credit goes to the staff -- from the person who opens the mail to the person who does data entry to the staff who travel the country. We have a great staff."
"However, in some ways," said Walls, "it's not how the admission staff is doing, but it is a validation of what Emory is trying to do. Everyone at Emory can take credit for our admission this year. Financial aid deserves a great amount of credit. So many decisions revolve around aid decisions, and they usually don't get any credit for the results. They deserve a lot of credit."
Walls also credits a program begun this year by Vice Provost for Academic and Enrollment Planning Mel Lockhart in which more than 100 faculty telephoned admitted students. Candler Professor of Political Science Harvey Klehr was one of those faculty members, and he echoed Walls' sentiment about aid. "The one thing that struck me was the number of kids who said it depended on money," said Klehr.
The other group to whom Walls attributes this year's success is the "hundreds of people on and off campus who operate as `adjunct' admission officers: alumni, coaches, current students who act as tour guides and hosts, campus life people like [debate coach] Melissa Wade, who contacts maybe 500 prospective students each year. When I'm asked how large our staff is, I respond that we have a professional staff of 12, but if you look at all of the people who make this happen, our staff numbers into the thousands."
"We have no quotas by area, but we like to see diversity," said Walls. The biggest growth area in applications is California. This year more than 500 students from California applied; that number has been rising by 100 each year for several years. That increase, according to Walls, is due to an increased Emory presence in the state: strong efforts by admission representative Lenore Carroll combined with more alumni recruitment activities organized with the Association of Emory Alumni (AEA). "We're trying to have a greater Emory presence in the state," he said.
This year's class will be made up of 55 percent women and 45 percent men; minority students account for 24.5 percent, with 9 percent African Americans, 3.5 percent Hispanics and 12 percent Asians.
Last year Oxford experienced a dramatic increase in yield, and this year that number has increased another percentage point, to 41 percent.
Oxford sometimes benefits from Emory College not going to its wait list, although this year, according to Taylor, they are in the enviable position of not having room for very many of those students. "I'm pleased with the class we're looking at right now," said Taylor. "Last year was a record year, and this year we're setting the same pace."
-- Nancy M. Spitler