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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. A total of 6,014 applicants were offered a place in the Class of 2018, compared to 6,062 for the Class of 2017, according to a University press release. Cornell also offered 3,133 students a place on the waitlist, compared to 3,142 from last year. Jason C. Locke, interim associate vice provost for enrollment, said in a University statement that Cornell’s reputation as a “stimulating living-learning community” continues to attract a “highly talented” and “diverse” pool of applicants.

“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. Median SAT I scores among those admitted remained constant in comparison to last year, according to the University. Both the newly admitted Class of 2018 and the Class of 2017 saw an average SAT I critical reading score of 720 and an average SAT I math score of 750.

http://cornellsun.com/blog/2014/03/28/cornell-admits-most-selective-class-in-university-history/