1445 To Get 'Fat' Admission Letters

Early next week 1445 anxious high school seniors will receive acceptance letters to the Class of 1977, a class which will be more affluent than its predecessor.

The membership of the class, drawn from an applicant pool almost 150 smaller than last year's, is expected to total 1175, L. Fred Jewett '57, dean of Admissions and Financial Aid, said yesterday. The present freshman class totals 1190.

Thirty-seven fewer applicants received Harvard scholarships this year, decreasing by $86,000 the amount doled out by the Committee on Admissions and Scholarship Aid, Jewett said.

"It clearly indicates that the admitted group was not as needy as last year's," he commented. He added that a decrease in applications from impoverished students caused the change.

The class's regional composition and racial breakdown may also change. The Committee admitted six fewer blacks to the class, a decrease caused by the 20 per cent fall in blacks' applications this year, Jewett said.

However, five more Spanish-speaking applicants--Chicanos, Cubans and Puerto Ricans--will receive "admission tickets," Jewett commented.

Fewer Preppies

The number of students accepted to the class of 1977 from New England private schools dropped by 46, reflecting a significant shift in the secondary schooling of future freshmen.

The regional breakup of the Class of 1977 will change most significantly in the Midwest, which drew 18 less acceptances, Jewett said. Applications from the Midwest dropped off sharply this year.

One hundred and seven students from the west coast were admitted to the next freshman class, an increase of over last year. Acceptances in the mountain states increased by the same figure. In the plains states, about five more applications than last year were approved.

230-800

The class may have slightly lower test scores than its predecessor, Jewett commented. He revealed that the verbal test scores of those accepted range from 800 to 230.

Members of the committee delivered the "fat" and "thin" letters shortly after 12 midnight this morning to the Postal Annex at South Station, adhering to an Ivy League agreement not to release the letters before today.

The Radcliffe Department of Admissions will release its letters at 5 a.m. this morning in Cambridge, Mary Anne Schwalbe, assistant director of Radcliffe Admissions said yesterday. Although no Radcliffe statistics will be compiled until next week, she did say that 630 students were admitted to form a 430-student class.