An agonizing wait for high school
seniors and applicants to Cornell ended at 5 p.m. Thursday, when the University
notified 14 percent of its more than 43,000 applicants that they were accepted
to the Class of 2018. The University’s overall acceptance
rate — which takes into account both the number of early and regular decision
acceptances — marked a record low, down from last year’s 15.2 percent for the
Class of 2017 and 16.2 percent for the Class of 2016. Cornell admissions representatives Reba McCutcheon ’96 and
Angela Herrera ’03 welcome the Class of 2018 during the Countdown to Cornell
event in the Robert Purcell Community Center Thursday. (Michelle Fraling / Sun
Staff Photographer) The number of applications Cornell
received for freshman admission — 43,041 — was also a record high for the
University. This figure represents a 7.6 percent increase from last year, when
Cornell received 40,006 applicants for freshman admission. Data indicate that this year’s admissions cycle was the most
selective it has ever been in the University’s history. Cornell denied 31,235
students admission to the University, versus 28,481 from last year. “With the university’s
sesquicentennial on the horizon, our admitted students are living proof of
Cornell’s longstanding commitment to ‘any person, any study,’” he said. Those who were admitted represent
all 50 U.S. states, in addition to Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the Virgin
Islands. With regards to international presence, 78 countries are represented
within this year’s admitted pool. The number of women who were offered
a place in the Class of 2018 — 52.6 percent — rose from last year’s 51.6
percent. Additionally, the number of admits
who self-identified with underrepresented minority populations rose to 25.7
percent of the total admitted pool from last year’s 24.9 percent, according to
the University. Students of color comprise more than 46 percent of those
accepted to the Class of 2018, the University said. http://cornellsun.com/blog/2014/03/28/cornell-admits-most-selective-class-in-university-history/