As any mail carrier can attest, the volume of mail picks up in late March and early April as colleges across the country notify applicants of admission decisions. This year, Mount Holyoke admission officers had the happy task of choosing from one of the largest applicant pools in College history. This year 2,306 women applied for the class of 2001, and MHC accepted 60 percent, or 1,389 of them. (By contrast, last year we received 2,026 applications and accepted 65 percent, or 1,324 of them.)
"We are excited that applications were up this year, especially since many of our peer institutions saw a decline in applications," says associate director of admission Diane Anci. "Not only was our applicant pool quite large, it was also incredibly strong. The students who applied to MHC seem to know themselves well and to be clear about their future goals. They are highly motivated and interested in a rigorous academic experience."
The academic quality of this year's accepted student group is comparable with those accepted last year, as shown below.
| CLASS OF 2000 | 2001 | |
| Mean SAT verbal score | 648 |
647 |
| Mean SAT math score | 619 |
614 |
| ACT composite score | 27 |
27 |
| Top 5% of high school class | 37% |
38% |
| Second 5% of class | 23% |
22% |
| Second 10% of class | 25% |
23% |
Despite sustained effort to attract students of color, fewer ALANA women applied this year (503 last year, 451 this year), though acceptance rates stayed steady. International student applications rose from 324 to 414 during the same period.
The accepted students come from forty-six states, Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico, and fifty-one other countries. Two-thirds attend public schools, 10 percent are from parochial schools, and 22 percent attend private institutions. Ninety-one students with alumnae connections applied this year; thirty-eight, or 42 percent, of these candidates were alumnae daughters. This is a dramatic increase, since the College normally receives about twenty-five such applications each year, according to Anci.
Accepted students must inform Mount Holyoke by May 1 if they accept our invitation to enroll in September. Between now and then, many will visit the campus during the admission office's Preview programs on April 13-15.
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