Spring Break
Brandeis admits its most selective class
by Miranda Neubauer
Senior Writer
News | 7/12/07
Posted online at 4:49 AM EST on 8/28/07
This week Brandeis welcomes its most selective first-year class in eight years, Dean of Admissions Gil Villanueva said.
With the undergraduate acceptance rate decreasing by two percent from last year, the University admitted 34 percent out of 7,605 total applicants, Villanueva wrote in an e-mail to the Justice.
As of mid-August, Villanueva said 37 students had transferred to Brandeis and 707 first-years were enrolled in the Class of 2011.
The New York Times reported in April that this year saw the "most selective spring in modern memory at America's elite schools." The median SAT score of the first-year class is 1,380, an increase from 1,367 last year.
Villanueva said the campus housing shortage, made urgent this year with Ridgewood under construction and Sheffries switching from a first-year to sophomore dorm, hasn't impacted the class size. The undergraduate population remains at approximately 3,200, he said.
The fifth mid-year class, made up of 93 students, will start their Brandeis career in January.
While schools such as Harvard University, Princeton University and the University of Virginia made headlines by abolishing their early-decision programs completely, Brandeis added a second early decision round this year. From a total of 359 early decision applications this year, the University received 102 applications for the second round in January. Around a quarter of the Class of 2011 was admitted early.
The decision to implement the new policy "proved to be beneficial to the University," Villanueva explained. "We were were able to increase the percentage of total ED applications by 72.6 percent."
Over the summer, new students gathered at Brandeis "send-offs" around the country.
Londyn Graham '11, who is from Queens applied to Brandeis through the Posse Program.
"I always knew that I wanted to go to [college] near Boston," she said at the Manhattan send off. "I look forward to really being challenged and meeting a lot of different people."
Her classmate Steven Nieman '11, who is also from Queens, applied to Brandeis through early decision.
"I visited Brandeis two times, I really fell in love with the school," he said.
With the undergraduate acceptance rate decreasing by two percent from last year, the University admitted 34 percent out of 7,605 total applicants, Villanueva wrote in an e-mail to the Justice.
As of mid-August, Villanueva said 37 students had transferred to Brandeis and 707 first-years were enrolled in the Class of 2011.
The New York Times reported in April that this year saw the "most selective spring in modern memory at America's elite schools." The median SAT score of the first-year class is 1,380, an increase from 1,367 last year.
Villanueva said the campus housing shortage, made urgent this year with Ridgewood under construction and Sheffries switching from a first-year to sophomore dorm, hasn't impacted the class size. The undergraduate population remains at approximately 3,200, he said.
The fifth mid-year class, made up of 93 students, will start their Brandeis career in January.
While schools such as Harvard University, Princeton University and the University of Virginia made headlines by abolishing their early-decision programs completely, Brandeis added a second early decision round this year. From a total of 359 early decision applications this year, the University received 102 applications for the second round in January. Around a quarter of the Class of 2011 was admitted early.
The decision to implement the new policy "proved to be beneficial to the University," Villanueva explained. "We were were able to increase the percentage of total ED applications by 72.6 percent."
Over the summer, new students gathered at Brandeis "send-offs" around the country.
Londyn Graham '11, who is from Queens applied to Brandeis through the Posse Program.
"I always knew that I wanted to go to [college] near Boston," she said at the Manhattan send off. "I look forward to really being challenged and meeting a lot of different people."
Her classmate Steven Nieman '11, who is also from Queens, applied to Brandeis through early decision.
"I visited Brandeis two times, I really fell in love with the school," he said.
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