Emory Report

September 7 , 1999

Volume 52, No. 3

Class of 2003 is smaller (thankfully) but more traveled, more focused on attending Emory With 1,197 freshmen on campus this fall (47 more than the target of 1,150), Emory College cut back on the total number of acceptances, but the class of 2003 is every bit as strong as its predecessors and has a bit more of an international flavor to it. "There are two big stories," said Dan Walls, dean of admission. "First is the large number of early-decision admissions--just under 40 percent of the class were admitted during the two early-decision rounds. These are students who had Emory as their absolute top choice, and when they were admitted in December or February, they withdrew their applications from other schools." Walls added that just under 40 students (up from 25 last year) are international admissions, spread out over 20 countries. International applications were up from 257 to 322 this year, and he believes the trend will continue. "We've been doing great recruiting abroad," Walls said. Other facts about this fall's freshmen: average unweighted grade point average is 3.6, average SAT score 1329; 54.6 percent (654) are female, 45.4 percent (543) are male; 108 freshmen (9 percent) are African American, 171 (14.2 percent) are Asian, and 35 (2.9 percent) are Hispanic. Just over 40 percent of freshmen are from the South, and the middle Atlantic states come in second at 23.5 percent. Out at Oxford, admission Director Jennie Taylor said she expected 325 freshmen to enroll, 10 above the goal of 315. The middle 50 percent of the class scored between 1090 and 1260 on the SAT, and the mean grade point average is 3.46. "The campus visit remeans our best resource; we get a high percentage of students who visit who apply for admission and subsequently enroll," Taylor said. "Our new dean, Dana Greene, is looking forward to bringing in our next class." Quick hits from around campus School of Theology. The Candler School expected to enroll 150 Masters of Divinity students, 30 Masters of Theological Studies students, 15 Masters of Theology students, two doctor of theology students and 12 special, non-degree students. "For the first time in our history, we received 600 applications, 368 of which were for the MDiv program and 125 for the MTS program," said Mary Lou Greenwood Boice, associate dean of admissions and student services. Boice credited the increase to additional scholarship support made possible by the school's donors. Business School. The Goizueta School welcomed 178 new MBA students this fall, up 28 from last year. The average student has five years professional work experience, and for the second year in a row all the new students have at least some work experience. "The more competitive the MBA program, the stronger the work experience," said Julie Barefoot, assistant dean of admissions and career services. Thirty-one percent of the class are women, 33 percent are international students and 7 percent are minorities, Barefoot said. The average age is 28. Graduate School. Len Wagner, academic records coordinator, said the school expected to enroll 285 new students. Sixty percent of the class are females, 20 percent are minorities and 15 percent are international students. Wagner said the class' average cumulative GRE score ranked in the 76th percentile. School of Nursing. The nursing school welcomed 123 new students: 69 undergraduates and 54 master's students. The average undergraduate is 25 years old, the average master's student 33. School of Law. Admission Coordinator Janet Balej said the distinguishing feature of this year's class of 204 students is its gender breakdown: 58 percent are females. "Usually it's split about even," she said. The median LSAT score for the class is 160, the median GPA 3.41. The oldest first-year student is 48, the youngest 21, and the average age is 24. Minorities make up 24 percent of the class, including 9.8 percent African American, 8.8 percent Asian and 5.4 percent Hispanic. School of Medicine. One hundred eleven new MD students arrived on campus this fall, selected from 6,833 applications. Fifty-two of the students (47 percent) are women, the highest number in the school's history, according to Becky Dillard in the admissions office. The overall GPA of the class is 3.75 (3.74 in sciences). "These GPAs represent the highest in 28 years, possibly the highest in the history of the school," Dillard said. School of Public Health. Though the numbers have not been finalized, student deposits exceeded the school's enrollment goal of 270. It received a record-setting 1,029 applications from 45 states and 57 foreign countries, according to Susan Daniel, assistant director of admissions. --Michael Terrazas, Stephanie Scott and Stacey Jones Return to September 7, 1999, contents page