Yale College Welcomes Class of 2005

The 649 women and 649 men who make up the Yale College Class of 2005 will arrive on campus on Friday, August 31.

The 1,298 members of the class were selected from among 14,809 applicants, a record number. This admittance rate of 13.8 percent, down from 16 percent last year, reflects a trend of increasing selectivity in the admissions cycle. Of the students who were admitted, 65 percent chose to attend the College, continuing a record of strong yields in recent years.

“The Class of 2005 is representative of the most academically qualified and competitive young people in higher education today. We are honored that after being admitted to Yale they have decided to come,” said Richard H. Shaw, dean of undergraduate admissions and financial aid.

The incoming freshmen represent 49 states, 44 foreign countries, and two U.S. possessions. There are 191 freshmen from New York, 158 from California and 97 from Connecticut.

The most popular majors indicated by the incoming students are molecular, cellular and developmental biology, 10.3 percent; political science, 7.5 percent; economics, 6 percent; and English, 5.4 percent. Majors in all areas of engineering represent 4.8 percent of the class. The students’ median SAT scores were 730 in verbal and 720 in math.

Yale admits students without regard to their ability to pay for their education (a policy called “need-blind” admissions) and fully meets the demonstrated financial need of each student. This year the College extended that policy, which previously applied to American and Canadian applicants, to include all students regardless of nationality. Including Canadians, 9.8 percent of this year’s class are foreign students.

The number of non-Canadian foreign students entering the freshman class rose from 81 last year to 95 this year. The number of those receiving financial aid has increased from 24.7 percent for the Class of 2004 to 62.1 percent for the Class of 2005. Students from India (8) and China (7) are the most frequently represented in this category. Incoming freshmen receiving financial aid hail from every continent and 31 countries, including Pakistan (2), Ghana (3), Ecuador (1), Jamaica (3), Sri Lanka (2), Korea (3), Turkey (2) and Bulgaria (3).

For the 2001-02 academic year, Yale expects to devote $30.9 million to financial aid grants for undergraduates. About 40 percent of students qualify for financial aid from Yale. The average student grant for the Class of 2005 is $16,930 per year, and some students of limited means qualify for grants in excess of $31,000.

The freshmen will engage in various orientation activities until classes begin September 5. Yale President Richard C. Levin and Yale College Dean Richard H. Brodhead will deliver their annual Freshman Addresses at 10 a.m. on September 1 in Woolsey Hall.