Yale College Welcomes Class of 2007

The 681 women and 673 men who make up the Yale College Class of 2007 arrived on campus on Friday, August 29.

The 1354 students enrolling this fall at Yale were admitted out of an applicant pool of 17,735 candidates, of which 2,014 were admitted. A higher than expected yield of 68 percent led to an additional 44 students over the target of 1,310. The admissions rate was 11.4 percent, down from 13 percent for the Class of 2006, reflecting a trend of increasing selectivity in the admissions process.

“The Class of 2007 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 attend,” said Richard H. Shaw, dean of undergraduate admissions and financial aid.

Nearly 41.4 percent of the Class of 2007 has qualified for need-based financial aid grants from Yale. The average student scholarship grant for the Class of 2007 is $21,600 per year, with the top Yale grant at $35,400. The total Yale financial aid budget for these students for the 2003-04 academic year is expected to exceed $11.7 million. None of this scholarship money is in the form of student loans or pay for campus jobs. Yale’s financial aid policies are designed so that every student who is admitted may attend, regardless of ability to pay.

The incoming freshmen represent 50 states, 50 foreign countries and two U.S. possessions. They include 515 students from the Northeast, 216 from the West, 159 from the Midwest, 119 from the South, 108 from the Mid-Atlantic States and 88 from the Southwest. International students make up nine percent of the class.

The most popular majors indicated by the incoming students are molecular, cellular and developmental biology, 8.7 percent; political science, 6.3 percent; economics, 6 percent; and English, 5.3 percent. Majors in all areas of engineering represent 8.8 percent of the class. The students’ median SAT scores were 740 in verbal and 730 in math.

Classes officially began on September 3.