Acceptance Rate For Class of 2005 Hits All-Time Low

Harvard College sent out more rejection letters than ever before at 12:01 a.m. this morning, accepting only 10.7 percent of the record 19,009 applicants for a place in the Class of 2005.

For the 12,914 students who applied regular decision, the rate of admission was slightly lower, at 10.6 percent. Over half of the class of 2005 was admitted under the early action process; they comprise 53.4 percent of the class.

In the biggest applicant pool Harvard has seen yet, the 2,401 admitted students to the Class of 2005 also had the largest percentage of women ever in its ranks, according to Dean of Admissions William R. Fitzsimmons '67.

Women will likely comprise 49% of the incoming class, reflecting the smallest gender gap an entering class has ever seen.

"It's hard not to sound like a broken record because in recent years we've had a record numbers of applicants," Fitzsimmons said. "We are looking not simply at the people we admitted but at the most promising members of this generation."

The applicant pool had 2,900 valedictorians, and two-thirds of those vying for a spot in the class of 2005 were in the top 10 percent of their graduating class. About 55 percent of the candidates scored higher than 1400 on their SATs. Approximately 2,000 scored an 800 on the SAT math portion and 1,700 had perfect verbal scores.

"We're extremely impressed not simply with the statistical achievements but by the people we found as we read the essays and teacher reports," Fitzsimmons said.

The 35 admissions officers began reading early action applications in late October, starting the process that lasts until the end of March.

Fitzsimmons said the majority of applicants are capable of succeeding in Harvard's academic environment.

"What it comes down to is trying to make a judgment about not just academic promise but the extracurricular and personal promise that an individual has," Fitzsimmons said.

"We also take into account what kind of educator that person would be for fellow classmates."

Each application is read by one admissions officer who then advocates the best case for that individual's admission in front of a larger committee.

"The discussion can last only a few minutes or an hour for a single case. Then majority vote prevails," Fitzsimmons said.

Fitzsimmons attributes the low acceptance rate and record applications to Harvard's financial aid program as well as the opportunities the University offers to students.

"Strong financial aid programs are in a lot of ways the foundation [for the applicant pool]. We make sure that financial aid is readily available," he said.

Harvard's revamped financial aid program, announced this spring, reduces the burden on students to work term time jobs, with an addition of $2,000 to each financial aid package. The plan will also decrease the need for many students to take student loans. Currently, about 70 percent of students receive some form of financial aid.

Fitzsimmons said another explanation for the record number of applications is the University's extensive recruiting efforts. Over 6,000 alumni around the world write over 60,000 letters encouraging individuals to apply. Recruiters also visited 55 cities to inform prospective applicants.

The University's strong Faculty, libraries, and resources in the sciences, as well as Harvard's location in Greater Boston, attracts many potential applicants, Fitzsimmons said.

The Class of 2005 will be welcomed during the weekend of April 21-23 for pre-frosh weekend.

Fitzsimmons said that even those denied admission will

"go on to do great things" and he expects to see many "back here at Harvard [for] graduate school."

--Staff Writer Nicole B. Usher can be reached at usher@fas.harvard.edu