Emory Report

September 11, 2000

Volume 53, No. 3

Class of 2004 another group of achievers By Michael Terrazas Nothing unusually distinctive, no bells and whistles, and four years away from pomp and circumstance-just another exceptionally strong, diverse and talented group of Emory students. That's how Dan Walls, director of admissions for Emory College, describes the Class of 2004, newly arrived on campus. "We have very talented musicians, writers, leaders, athletes," Walls said of the approximately 1,230 college freshmen. "You name it, and we have it in this class." By the numbers, the class is 53 percent female, 47 percent male; 27 percent are minorities (7.5 percent African American, 16 percent Asian American and 3.2 percent Hispanic); 42 percent of students in the Class of 2004 hail from the Southeast (including 19 percent from Georgia), 26 percent from Middle Atlantic states, 6 percent from both New England and the Southwest, 8 percent from the West, and the final 4 percent are international students. Of the 50 first-year students from abroad, eight are from Korea, four from China, and two students came from each of Zimbabwe, the United Kingdom, Colombia and Turkey. Twenty-two other countries all sent a single student to Emory this fall. The Class of 2004 posted an average SAT score of 1327, with the middle 50 percent of the class ranging from 1280 to 1420. The average unweighted grade-point average (GPA) was 3.63 Walls said the University continues its trend of accepting a large number of freshmen for early admission; nearly 40 percent of freshmen were admitted by one of Emory's two early deadlines. "That's a good sign," Walls said. "These are students who are withdrawing their applications to all other schools and committing early to Emory. "This is a very competitive marketplace," Walls said of the peer group of institutions with which Emory competes for students. "A student admitted to Emory will have many options for college, so this continues to be a challenge for our admissions office. We have very high hopes for this class." Oxford: The approximately 600 freshmen at Oxford this fall boast an average GPA of 3.5 and average SAT score of 1190. More than half (55 percent) come from Georgia, and 82 percent hail from the Southeast. The West/South-west accounts for another 10 percent, the Northeast and Midwest combine for 7 percent, and 1 percent of Oxford freshmen are international students. More than a third (34 percent) of the freshmen are minorities, including 18 percent Asian American, 12 percent African American and 3 percent Hispanic. More than 86 percent of Oxford freshmen are receiving some form of financial aid. Business: Of the 146 new bachelor's of business administration students, nearly one-third (32 percent) are female, and 27 percent are minorities. The new master's of business administration class totals 173 students, with 33 percent women, 10 percent minorities and 33 percent international students. Law: Two hundred twenty-three first-year law students arrived at Emory this fall, split almost evenly by gender (49 percent male, 51 percent female). Twenty-one percent are minority students. The median LSAT score of the class is 160, the median GPA 3.4 and the average age is 22. Public health: The school reports 315 new students representing 38 states and territories, with 48 percent coming from the South, and 24 foreign countries. The class has a mean GPA of 3.27 and a mean GRE score of 1742. Theology: Candler's 626 applications continues a trend that has seen the school's total number of applications rise 57 percent since 1992. The school expected 223 first-year students this fall, 163 in the master of divinity program, 32 in master of theological studies, 13 in master of theology and 15 as special, non-degree students. "In addition to the increase in MDiv enrollment, this class excites us in other ways," said Mary Lou Greenwood Boice, associate dean of admissions. "There has been an increase in ethnic minority and international enrollees, and the percentage of women is just over 50 percent." Medicine: The medical school enrolled 111 new students, of whom 55 are women and the other 56 men. The class is 22 percent minority: 17 percent African American, 3 percent Native American, 1 percent each Mexican and Puerto Rican. The average GPA is 3.75, the average MCAT score 31. "The fact that we have a large number of underrepresented minorities-and almost half the class are women-is pretty noticeable," said Mae Nelson, administrative assistant in the school's office of admissions. Return to September 11, 2000 contents page