As students settle back into their Providence homes and dive into the often hectic shopping period, the Office of Admission will continue to review over 31,000 applications they received for the class of 2015, a task which has been underway for more than a month. This year's record-breaking number represents a 3 percent increase from last year, according to Dean of Admission Jim Miller '73.
Although the number of applications did rise from last year, the 3 percent increase is not as dramatic as the consecutive 20 percent year-over-year increases in applications for the classes of 2013 and 2014.
While Miller said he could not specifically explain why this year's increase was smaller, he said that admission numbers are generally "hard to predict" and "tend to move in waves."
Miller speculated that applicants may have seen the significant upward trend in application numbers and concluded that, since it may be "a lot harder to get in this year," they should instead focus their attention on less selective schools. Regardless, Miller said the 50 percent increase in applications over the last three years reveals that Brown's overall reputation remains strong.
"Students and their parents get information about institutions from many different sources (such as) books, internet articles and blogs," Miller said. "These numbers show that much of this information about Brown is positive," he added.
In comparison, Princeton, Stanford and Harvard saw increases of 3.3, 7 and 15 percent, respectively. Columbia saw a more significant 32 percent increase. In a Jan. 19 article in the Daily Pennsylvanian, Columbia Dean of Admission Jessica Marinaccio attributed most of the jump to the decision to move to the Common Application, an application used by over 400 undergraduate institutions across the country.
Historically, when schools switch from their own unique process to the Common Application, admission offices see a 5 percent increase in applicants, Miller said. But Brown's huge consecutive jumps cannot be explained by this simple trend. Miller said improvements in the financial aid program, as well as the University's success in broader efforts to recruit students, may be contributing to the sustained increase in applications.
The large applicant pool for the class of 2015 is geographically and academically different from last year's. The number of international applicants increased 10 percent as a result of more active recruiting efforts overseas. Miller said that the initiative to recruit international students has taken time to build momentum, but is now "beginning to bear fruit."
Domestically, there has been a shift toward applications from students in the south and west, an observation that Miller said was consistent with general population trends. California keeps its title as the state with the largest number of applications.
In terms of intended concentration plans, admissions officers have noticed an increasing interest in the sciences and the number of applicants wanting to pursue the Bachelor of Science degree. Additionally, the number of students applying to the Program in Liberal Medical Education increased 5 percent, more than the overall applicant pool increase. Miller attributed these changes to targeted recruitment in the sciences, as well as "very good publicity in recent initiatives in science and math."
Although these new programs, in addition to recruitment, may attract many students, Evan Sweren, a senior at the Gilman School in Baltimore, said that his decision to apply to a particular school is less concrete. "I think it's more visceral — an off-the-cuff reaction," Sweren wrote in an e-mail to The Herald.
For Sweren, it was the way that most students on campus seemed to be happy and friendly that attracted him to apply. "From my adventure to the rare books library to my more adventurous adventure on a slack-line on a green, Brown welcomed me in," he said.
In the past, admission decisions have often been released in late March. According to Miller, 2000 or more offers of admission will be made this year. While the target class size is 1485, nearly 580 students have already been admitted through the binding Early Decision program.
