The Office of Undergraduate Admissions received 1,432 Early Decision applications last week from students seeking advance admission to the Class of 2016, marking a continuing growth of Hopkins' popularity among the college-bound demographic.
The admission pool, according to Dean of Admissions John Latting, is "bigger, more diverse and apparently stronger academically" than that of past classes.
The influx of applications reveals an eight percent increase in the applicant pool from last year. Last fall, 1,130 individuals applied for spots in the Class of 2015 through the university's Early Decision program.
"The increase in applications has essentially been linear for the past decade," Latting said. "We see about five hundred more applications every five years."
The batch of prospective students, whose applications arrived in Mason Hall on Tuesday, Nov. 1, depicts statistical increases in demographics both geographic and academic. Applications from Maryland and New Jersey — states with an already-ingrained presence on Homewood — saw "big gains" this year, Latting said. Engineering programs also saw a surge in popularity, continuing a trend of growth disproportionate to that of the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences.
On whole, the pool is a varied one. Latting stated that 189 of the 1,432 applicants — approximately eight percent — are minorities, defining the category as applicants who self-identified as black, Hispanic or Native American.
He also identified the Early Decision applicants to the Class of 2016 as "stronger academically" than that of past classes, with an average SAT score of 1353 (on the 1600-point scale): a 20-point increase from last year. Consequent to the increase in both magnitude and ability, a proportionate trend pervades: admissions to Hopkins will continue to grow more difficult.
"Last year, we accepted 39 percent of our early applications, versus a 60 percent acceptance rate a decade ago," Latting said. "We're taking more of our class early, but the likelihood of admission is dropping."
Latting's staff accepted 518 of the 1,330 Early Decision candidates for the Class of 2015, forming roughly 40 percent of the class weeks before the office received the bulk of applications. The admissions staff expects similar statistics this year, Latting said, but anticipates a lower acceptance rate on whole.
"Last year, we accepted 38 percent early and 18 percent regular, which came out to an 18 percent acceptance rate overall," Latting said. "This year, it'll likely be closer to 15 percent overall."
Noting the increasingly aggressive spirit of the college admissions game, Latting acknowledged the comparative advantages of applying to a university via a binding early admissions program.
"There's a certain luxury to the Early Decisions program, both for applicants and admissions staff members," he said. "The staff has fewer applications to read and thus more time to read them, so it's fair to say that we give greater evaluation to those applications submitted early."
Much of the advantage rests in the irreducibly statistical nature of the admissions process. In order to accurately predict the size of the incoming class, Hopkins assigns applications submitted during the regular decision round with a percentage of likelihood that the student will enroll if accepted. An application with a higher percentage is a "safer bet," according to Latting.
The rating system does not apply to Early Decision applicants, since the commitment of the early process implies an applicant's unwavering interest in the school. Such interest, Latting said, is enticing.
For most Hopkins students, this advantage was no secret during their admissions processes.
"I'd seen kids from my high school apply early with much greater success than the regular decision applicants. I loved Hopkins, so I figured ‘why not?'" Alyssa Zelicof, a freshman accepted through Early Decision, said.
Freshman Victoria Marlin concurred, claiming that Hopkins was her "first choice" and the benefits of applying early were "obvious."
At the end of the day, however, neither timing nor implied interest can eclipse ability — or lack thereof. Almost a thousand applicants will receive disappointing news from Hopkins come Dec. 15, a reality that Latting stressed as unfortunately necessary.
"At the end of the day, though, we take who we want — who we think will thrive," he said. "We take who we think will take advantage of the resources provided at Hopkins."
