News
25% acceptance rate for the second year in a row
By Emily Eisler ’17
March 31, 2016
Tags news
On Friday, Mar. 25, hundreds of high school seniors were accepted to the Hamilton College class of 2020. They join those admitted through early decision I and II to form a total of 1,317 admitted students for next year.
Vice President and Dean of Admission and Financial Aid Monica Inzer stated, “The admission office was thrilled with the quality, depth and diversity of this year’s pool [of applicants]. As usual, the hardest part of our job was figuring out who not to take.”
Overall, this is one of the College’s most impressive applicant pools, and the numbers from this year’s process display how selective Hamilton is becoming. The acceptance rate this year matched last year’s record-low of 25 percent. One reason for this is the increase in demand we see in rising numbers of applications over the years. The College received 5,230 applications this year, just short of last year’s record of 5,434.
Overall, Hamilton’s applications are on an upward trend; this year’s number is about 1,000 more than a decade ago, and Hamilton is attracting some impressive academic talent. The statistics reflect incredibly competitive standardized test scores and grade point averages among those accepted. The average SAT score for those admitted was 1429 for critical reading and math and 715 for writing. The average ACT was 32. The admitted class also comes from 45 states and 35 countries, and the gender ratio for this class is 45 to 55 men to women.
The admission office realizes these students will have a number of great options for college next year, so they are now focused on making sure the admitted students know that Hamilton is the best school for them. They are working on this by increasing their outreach initiatives during the next month to get the word out about the College. These include overnight visits, mailings, campus and residence hall tours, off-campus receptions for admitted students, podcasts, targeted emails and admitted students information sessions.
This year, Hamilton is also working more on social media, using the hashtag “#hamilton20” to connect directly with the new class. The College’s time to shine will of course be the Accepted Student Open House, happening this year on April 18. Most current students have either attended or since observed this day and the accompanying campus wide event showing prospective students what Hamilton has to offer. Inzer also mentioned that the admission office is “always grateful for all in our community who come together that day to show their Hamilton pride and help our cause.”
The target size for the class of 2020 is 480, with 20 transfers coming in this fall as well as 40 jans in the spring. The final numbers will be confirmed after deposits are due on May 1, National Candidate’s Reply Date.