03/31/94
CONTACT: Stanford University News Service (650) 723-2558
STANFORD -- Stanford University mailed offers of admission to about 2,900 prospective freshmen on Thursday, March 31, Dean of Undergraduate Admissions James Montoya announced.
The offers to join Stanford's Class of 1998 were mailed to students in every state and in many foreign nations. They were selected from 14,610 applications - an increase of more than 1,000 over last year, Montoya said.
Because of the number and the quality of the applicants, Montoya said, this year's reading process was even more grueling than usual.
"The stunning academic credentials and extracurricular achievements of the admitted class reflect the overall strength and quality of this year's applicant pool," Montoya said. "More often than in past years, we found that students with the strongest academic credentials also displayed outstanding energy and talent outside the classroom."
The anticipated size of the entering freshman class is about 1,580. Acceptances must be postmarked no later than May 1, 1994.
The primary criterion for admission is distinguished academic achievement and potential. About three-fourths of the applicants, and more than 90 percent of those who were offered admission, fell within the top decile of their high school classes. Nearly half of the applicants with straight "A" averages were denied admission; more than half of those offered admission carried 4.0 grade point averages.
Almost a quarter of the applicants submitted combined SAT scores of 1400 or higher, out of a possible 1600, and fewer than half of that group was offered admission. A third of the admitted students have SAT verbal scores of 700 or higher (compared to 1 percent nationally) and two-thirds have SAT math scores of 700 or higher (compared to 4 percent nationally). These figures, Montoya said, reflect the fact that Stanford uses a variety of criteria, in addition to grades and standardized test scores, to select its students.
Applications came from students representing 4,258 secondary schools, of which 1,541 are represented in the admitted class. Women make up 49.5 percent of the admitted class, compared to 49.9 percent last year. African American (7.5 percent), Asian American (26.8 percent), Mexican American/Chicano (9.4 percent) and Native American (1.2 percent) students comprise 44.9 percent of the admitted class, compared to 45.2 percent last year. The percentage of international students is 5 percent, compared to 5.2 percent last year.
Offers were sent to applicants in all 50 states and 48 foreign countries. California had the highest representation in the admitted class (37.7 percent), followed by Texas (6 percent), New York (5.3 percent), Massachusetts and Illinois (3.3 percent each) and Washington (3.1 percent).
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