Class of 2009 draws 1,220

Out of the 1,807 students accepted for the Class of 2009, 67.6 percent have decided to enroll at the University, Dean of Admissions Janet Rapelye will announce today. That number translates to just above the target class size of 1,220.

"We haven't gone to the wait list yet and it looks like we might not be going to the wait list this year," Rapelye said, adding that she was pleased the University was already "at the [class] size we need to be."

A University's yield — the number of admitted students who choose to enroll — is considered to be a good measure of its competitiveness. This year's yield of 67.6 percent is marginally less than last year's 67.8 percent. Harvard reported a slight increase in their yield to 80 percent, while Yale expects 70 percent of its admitted students to enroll.

Rapelye said that the University "really pursued admitted students" in order to get them to enroll by "paying attention to students that Princeton may not earlier have paid attention to."

"We did many more online chats and phone-a-thons this year for all of our admitted students," she said. "We made sure we were reaching out to students from low income backgrounds, international students, students from the arts."

Class dynamics

Both the average math and average verbal SAT scores of incoming students are 730. The Class of 2009 will be the last class admitted on the basis of the old SATs, since the Admission Office will require that next year's applicants submit scores from the new version of the test, which includes a writing section.

Just over 30 percent of the incoming freshman class will come from a minority background, though 42 percent of those offered admission were minorities. The trend reverses with legacy students — legacies make up 12.2 percent of the enrolled class while only 9.9 percent of the admitted students were legacies.

International students will comprise 9.1 percent of the class, with 112 non-U.S. citizens deciding to enroll.

The number of engineering candidates has risen to 213 from ast year's 193, making up 17.4 percent of the incoming class. Men continue to outnumber women and comprise 55 percent of the Class of 2009, unlike Harvard, which expects to enroll more women than men this year.

The Class of 2009 also has the highest number of students on financial aid of any incoming class, with the University offering financial support to 54 percent of the incoming students.

Rapelye said this was part of the University's attempt to target students from low-income households.

She also said that there had been a "conscious effort to pay attention to students who were the first in their families to go to college," though she didn't have the specific number of such students enrolled.

Early Decision

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Rapelye said the University will not switch next year from its Early Decision plan, which compels admitted students to enroll in the University, to the non-binding Early Action plan.

"It is unlikely we'll make the change next year, and I don't even know whether we'll ever go to [Early Action]," Rapelye said. "We are, at the moment, planning to go Early Decision."

She confirmed, however, that the Admission Office has hired the D.C.-based public relations firm Widmeyer Communications to conduct research on current and prospective students' views regarding the University. The firm will also focus on prospective students' opinions regarding a switch to the Early Action plan.

"We look annually at all of our admissions processes. We are reviewing everything we do, including ED," Rapelye said. "We'll look at what the research says and then make a decision."