| Duke mailed acceptance letters in April to 3,083 top high-school seniors vying for admission to the Class of 2005 from every state and several nations. The mailing brings the university’s total offers of admission to 3,583 students, including 500 early-decision applicants accepted in December. The university is targeting 1,597 of those students for enrollment this fall. The Class of 2005 will be the most selective at Duke in more than a decade. The total of 3,583 acceptance letters is the lowest sent out by Duke since 1991; not since 1988 has the university turned away a higher percentage of applicants. “There were literally thousands of students we did not admit who would have been stellar members of the student body,” says Christoph Guttentag, admissions director. The 2001 figure of 14,647 applications was the highest number since 1987, topping the 2000 total by 179 and continuing a five-year trend of steady growth, Guttentag says. Applications to Trinity College of Arts and Sciences rose to 12,323. The Pratt School of Engineering set a record with 2,324 applicants. Guttentag says the impact of the recent naming gift the school received, the hiring of new dean Kristina Johnson, and the announcement of the school’s focus on cutting-edge photonics research are among the probable reasons for the rising interest in the engineering school. Duke also saw a record number of applications from students of color in 2001, with significant increases in the number of Asian, Latino, and African-American student applicants. Since 1998 the number of black students applying to Duke has jumped 38 percent, reaching 1,278 this year. North Carolina remains the top state for admitted students, with 476. The other top five are: New York (295); Florida (291); Texas (230); and California (212). |
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