Last Wednesday, 2,115 applicants learned that they had been offered a spot in Brown's most selective class ever. Including the 577 students who were accepted in December through the binding early-decision program, a total of 2,692 students from 79 countries were accepted from a record-setting pool of 30,946 — an overall admission rate of 8.7 percent, even lower than last year's 9.3 percent.
Acceptance rates across the Ivy League hit record lows, with Harvard dipping to 6.2 percent and Yale 7.4 percent. In part due to a switch to the Common Application, Columbia saw a 33 percent increase in combined total applications to its college and School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, receiving 34,929 applications and posting an acceptance rate of only 6.9 percent. This represented a significant drop from last year's combined 9.2 percent admission rate.
At Brown, approximately two-thirds of accepted students applied for financial aid, and 17 percent of admission offers went to first-generation college students, the highest percentage ever, according to Dean of Admission Jim Miller '73. Nine percent of the admitted class has legacy status, a number that is "very similar to prior years," Miller wrote in an email to The Herald. A University press release stated that the class of 2015 is "the most racially, socioeconomically and geographically diverse class in Brown's history."
The admitted students are "very, very accomplished in terms of the courses they've taken and projects they've pursued," Miller said. Among those coming from high schools that rank students, 96 percent were in the top 10 percent of their classes.
This year's applicant pool expressed slightly more interest in the sciences, especially the physical sciences — 33 percent of students listed sciences as intended concentrations, up from 30 percent in the class of 2014.
But many students are still attracted to Brown's liberal arts programs. According to Steve Kim, a high school senior at Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass., Brown "seemed like a place of greater appreciation for the arts than most colleges, which meant a lot to me as a musician." Kim, who is also considering offers from Columbia and Stanford, plans to double-concentrate in East Asian Studies and Economics.
Fourteen percent of the admission offers were made to international students. China, India and the United Kingdom rank at the top of the list with 57, 34 and 33 offers, respectively. India has replaced Canada as the second-most-represented country among admitted students. The University has increased recruiting efforts overseas in recent years, and the success of those initiatives is reflected in these numbers, according to Miller.
Domestically, California, New York and Massachusetts boast the highest number of admits, with 393, 322 and 216, respectively. The large volume of applications from California and the south and west in general reflect "demographic trends in the country," Miller said.
Alon Sacks, from Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley, Calif. was drawn to Brown because of its diverse community and flexible curriculum.
Though this year's 3 percent increase in application numbers was smaller than in recent cycles, the Office of Admission has seen a 50 percent increase over the past three years, according to the press release.
The University also accepted 112 fewer applicants than last year, when 2,804 applicants received offers. Miller said this was an intentional decision meant to avoid the potential overcrowding of residence halls, particularly first-year dormitories. Last year, the University "came very close" to overfilling the rooms, Miller said.
Many students have been placed on a waitlist as well, but Miller said it was difficult to predict how many students would choose to remain on the list and how many students will eventually be accepted. Last year, fewer than six students were admitted off the waitlist, he said.
Students have until May 1 to either accept or decline admission. The University expects 1,485 students to matriculate this fall.
