Class of 2011 most competitive
By Johanna Mitchell
The class of 2011 was selected from the largest application pool in the university's history, and this fall they will arrive on campus with some of the top academic records for Santa Clara to date, said Interim Vice Provost for Enrollment Management Terry Shoup.
The mean grade point average for accepted incoming freshmen is currently 3.62, said Sandra Hayes, dean of admission, compared to 3.5 for the current freshman class.
Average cumulative SAT scores also rose to 1223, slightly higher than last year's accepted student average of 1218.
"I think it's probably going to be the best academic quality class we've ever seen at Santa Clara," said Shoup.
Over 9,450 high school seniors applied for the 2007-2008 academic year, an increase from the previous year's record of 8,670. Of the class of 2011's record number of applicants, 1,220 had sent in deposits by Saturday's deadline.
Numbers are still in flux, as deposits continue to come in and students inevitably change their minds, a trend which Shoup said the admissions office calls the summer "melt." The admissions office expects about 1,200 freshmen to be on campus in the fall.
According to the San Jose Mercury News, the university turned away 41 percent of applicants for this fall, compared to 34 percent the previous year.
Selectivity rankings for many colleges have increased in recent years, the article detailed, rankings that suggest the quality of these institutions is also increasing.
"That's the perception, that the more selective you are -- i.e. the more students you turn away -- the better the university," said Hayes. "Through a selfish lens, it's a really good thing for Santa Clara."
The male to female ratio of the class of 2011 will be more balanced than in previous years, with 52 percent of admitted students female and 48 percent male. The gender balance has slowly been equalizing over the past few years, said Shoup, and is an improvement from the class of 2010's 55 percent majority female population.
Geographic location percentages stayed almost stagnant, Shoup said, with about 55 percent of admitted students currently residing in California, 42 percent from out of state, and 3 percent from international locales.
Santa Clara also accepts an average of 200 transfer students per year, said Shoup, though transfer numbers for this fall have not been finalized.
Shoup attributes the growing applicant pool to several factors, including the university's transition to an entirely electronic application, as well as to high school outreach events the university put on in recent months. Preview days, overnight stays and off-campus presentations attracted over 1,300, 580 and 900 students, respectively.
The large freshman class of 2010 left classrooms and residence halls feeling more cramped than usual, but Shoup said he doesn't expect as much stress on campus this fall.
Contact Johanna Mitchell at (408) 554-4546 or jjmitchell@scu.edu.