7 facts about the Yale College Class of 2016

August 23, 2012

Photos: Yale welcomes the Class of 2016

The Elm Street gate on Old Campus was bustling with activity on Friday morning.
Teams of undergraduates, like these from Pierson College, made quick work of transporting arriving students' belongings to their rooms on Old Campus.
Carrying a chair through Phelps Gate.
A banner welcomed incoming Branford College students.
A new student watches as Branford College students unload her belongings.
Dean of Students Marichal Gentry and an enthusiastic group of freshman counselors.
The ITS Student Technology Collaborative was on hand to help with computer issues.
A costumed Calhoun College student with a passion for helping new students move into their rooms.
A mother and daughter outside of Vanderbilt Hall.
Getting keys and ID cards.
Arranging for laundry service.
Returning from a Freshman Outdoor Orientation Trip (FOOT).
A happy and tired group arrive on Old Campus after a FOOT trip.
President Richard C. Levin and Yale College Dean Mary Miller chatting with students on Old Campus on the morning of Move-In Day.
A Morse College student who helped incoming students get settled in their rooms.
Greeting a friend after a summer away from Yale.
Levin, Miller, Provost Peter Salovey, and Secretary and Vice President for Student Affairs Kimberly Goff-Crews lead the procession into Woolsey Hall for the Freshman Assembly.
Students attending the Freshman Assembly.
The Dean holding a copy of a map of Mexico that was the basis for her address to students.
Students listening to the Dean's remarks.
The President spoke about the benefits to students attending a research university.
Listening to the President's remarks.
Woolsey Hall was filled with students and family members for the Freshman Assembly.
Enjoying a light moment.
Members of the Yale Precision Marching Band entertained students and family members who were on their way up Hillhouse Avenue to the President's Reception.
Entering the President's House.
Richard and Jane Levin, Mary Miller, and Professor Edward Kamens extend greetings in the reception line.
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On Move-In Day (Aug. 24), Yale’s Old Campus was a blur of box-toting, cart-pushing and otherwise laden students, families, and friends as the members of the Class of 2016 arrived on campus. Here are a few facts about Yale College’s newest class.

1. There are 1,356 new freshmen, chosen from a record applicant pool of 28,977.

2. 57% come from public high schools.

See President Richard C. Levin's Freshman Address

See Yale College Dean Mary Miller's Freshman Address

3. 10% are international citizens, representing 46 countries.

4. 40% are U.S. citizens or permanent residents who identify themselves as students of color.

5. Over 12% of the students will be the first individuals in their family to graduate from a four-year college or university.

6. Half of the class qualified for Yale’s financial aid, with the average Yale scholarship for an eligible freshman at $41,230, or about 70% of the total cost of attendance.

7. A record 42.5% have expressed an interest in majoring in one of Yale’s 26 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors. (Just six years ago, only one-third of freshmen planned to pursue STEM majors.)

This increase in prospective STEM majors, says Jeff Brenzel, dean of undergraduate admissions, is because “More of the strongest students in the world now recognize that Yale undergraduates engage in cutting-edge science and engineering here through research opportunities and mentorships with senior faculty.”

Life on campus

All incoming undergraduates are assigned to one of Yale’s 12 residential colleges. The residential colleges allow students to experience the cohesiveness and intimacy of a small school while still enjoying the cultural and scholarly resources of a large university. Students remain affiliated with their residential college for all four years. Yale makes every effort to represent the diversity of the entire undergraduate community within the residential colleges so that each college is a microcosm of the larger student population.

Every residential college has its own master and dean, both of whom are Yale faculty members. The master and dean live in the college with their families and eat their meals with students in the dining hall.

Studying or working abroad

Yale’s expectation is that all undergraduates have at least one international experience during their time at Yale. About one-quarter of the students set out across the globe each year to experience other cultures through study, work, and research abroad. Yale supports all undergraduates in planning their activities abroad and in finding ways to finance these activities. Students receiving financial aid from Yale are eligible for aid to support a summer experience abroad.