Applications to Class of 2001 Top 2,100, Exceeding Last Year's Final Application Total

By January 21, one week after the official application deadline, 2,143 women had applied to join the MHC class of 2001. This is 584 more (or 37 percent more) than had applied for first-year admission last year by that date, and more than last year's final total of 2,026 applications. As in previous years, additional applications that arrive shortly after the deadline will likely be accepted, so these figures could change.

An especially positive sign in this year's applications is the fact that early decision applications increased by 40 percent overall, with a total of 163 early decision candidates. (There are two "rounds" of early decision; round one applications were up by 66 percent, but a drop in round two applications reduced the average.) Early decision applicants declare Mount Holyoke as their first-choice college, so a rise in these applications, although a small part of the total class, indicates rising prestige for the College.

Director of admissions Anita Smith cautions that direct year-to-year comparisons of application numbers can be misleading. This is because the application deadline has varied by as much as a month in recent years, and because some applications that were mailed by the deadline usually get delayed in transit and arrive shortly after the deadline. Still, this year's tally of 2,143 compares favorably with recent years' application numbers (counted one week after each year's official deadline). In 1996 there were 2,006 applications; in 1995, 1,984; in 1994, 1,924; and in 1993, 1,762.

Smith also reported that by January 21, 225 Mary Lyon Legacy certificates (which waive the application fee) were used.

Between now and late March, admissions office staff will immerse themselves in reading and evaluating the application folders of each candidate. Applicants will be notified of whether they are accepted to MHC by early April.