12/13/96
CONTACT: Marisa Cigarroa, News Service (415) 725-9750;
e-mail marisac@leland.stanford.edu
COMMENT: James Montoya, Dean of Undergraduate Admission and Financial Aid
(415) 725-2839
Stanford University has mailed offers of admission to 362 first-round early decision candidates for the Class of 2001. This is the second year students have applied to Stanford under the early admission process.
Those seeking early decisions from Stanford had two options. In Early Decision 1, applications had to be postmarked on or before Nov. 1 to receive notification before Christmas. In Early Decision 2, applications could come in by Dec. 1. Those notifications will go out in early February. In both cases, students requesting early decisions had to commit to attending Stanford if selected.
"These students have clearly demonstrated that they are ready for the academic opportunities and challenges Stanford provides its undergraduates," said James Montoya, dean of admission and financial aid.
Of the 1,180 Early Decision 1 candidates, 362 were offered admission and must withdraw their applications, if any, from other universities. Thirty-nine states and the District of Columbia were represented, with California being the home state for 43 percent (overall, 45 percent of the applicants were from California). Texas, New York, Massachusetts, Illinois and Oregon each have 10 or more students among the Early Decision 1 admits.
"The 12 percent increase in Early Decision 1 applications added to the challenge of selecting this group of students," Montoya said. "The 20 percent increase in the number of students offered admission, 362 compared to 301 last year, reflects the impressive intellectual and personal qualities of the applicants."
In terms of academic criteria, more than 90 percent of those admitted through Early Decision 1 (for whom class rankings were reported) are within the top decile of their high school classes. Nearly 50 percent of those admitted have perfect 4.0 grade point averages, and more than 80 percent have combined SAT 1 scores of 1400 or above, out of a possible 1600.
This year, the deadline for Early Decision 2 applications was pushed back from Dec. 15 to Dec. 1. Montoya indicated that his office has received approximately 1,350 applications for Early Decision 2, 14 percent more than for Early Decision 1. Last year, 267 students were admitted to Stanford through Early Decision 2, he said.
Stanford expects to admit a freshman class of approximately 1,610. A profile of the entire admitted class, including those admitted through regular admissions, will be available in early April.
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-By Marisa Cigarroa-