The College was more selective than last year, accepting 49 percent of those who applied (last year, 55 percent of applicants were accepted) from the largest applicant pool (2,881 students) in its 164-year history. The result is an academically strong class, with 50 percent of the first-years ranked in the top 10 percent of their high school graduating class. This is the first class that could choose not to submit SAT scores, and 24 percent of applicants exercised this option. "Our SAT-optional policy has been enthusiastically embraced by students and guidance counselors, and the College has taken a leadership role in the testing debate," said Jane Brown, Mount Holyoke's vice president for enrollment and College relations. "We will be carefully tracking the results over the next five years and hope to contribute substantively to the national discussion."

The group of 506 first-years is also the most diverse in the College's history. A record 21 percent of Mount Holyoke's first-year students this fall are African American, Latina American, Asian American, or Native American, up four percentage points from last year. Students from outside the United States constitute 17 percent of the class, up two percentage points from last year. Mount Holyoke is consistently on the Institute of International Education's top-ten list of United States colleges with the greatest number of international students and enrolls more international students than any other elite liberal arts college in the United States.

This year's incoming students are also bringing diversity of geography, age, and accomplishment to Mount Holyoke. They represent 42 states and 40 countries and, in addition to the first-years, include 60 transfer students, 44 Frances Perkins Scholars of nontraditional age, an Ultimate Frisbee national junior champion, a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, and a member of the Governing Council of the International Planned Parenthood Federation.

Mount Holyoke College is one of the nation's finest liberal arts colleges. Rigorous academics, an internationally diverse student body, and integration of cutting-edge technologies through all aspects of the Mount Holyoke curriculum create an environment that prepares women to become leaders in an increasingly complex world.