Duke admits 602 early decision applicants

Last Thursday, the fates of about 2,000 anxious high school seniors were posted online as Duke released early decision results for the Class of 2014.

Of those who applied, 602 students were offered admission, 713 students were deferred admission, and 609 students were denied admission.

Approximately 2,012 students applied early for the Class of 2014, but some withdrew their applications or did not complete them, so the number who received a decision is slightly lower.

The rate of admission was 30 percent, down 4 percent from last year. This year’s decisions were more difficult to make both because of the unprecedented 33-percent jump in applicants and to the more competitive applicants, said Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Christoph Guttentag.

“[Applicants] have gotten more competitive since last year," Guttentag said. "There is no question that the larger applicant pool meant that there were students that we weren’t able to admit this year that we would have admitted in the past."

Admissions officers are puzzled as to why the number of applications rose so dramatically.

“There was a lot of press speculation earlier that this year, the effects of the financial crisis would really show up through fewer kids applying early decision, especially financial aid students,” Provost Peter Lange said.

But not only was there an increase in early decision applications, there was a comparable jump in students indicating they would apply for financial aid.  

“Maybe our financial aid programs were able to overcome those anxieties,” Lange said.

Guttentag said Duke’s increased selectivity last Spring might have played a role in increasing the number of early decision applicants.

“I think it’s entirely reasonable to think that there were students that saw how much more selective we’ve become, and they applied early decision because they thought they had the best chances,” he said.

Lange noted that Duke’s unique programs, such as DukeEngage, and more effective admissions materials may have played a role in the rise in early decision applications, but said he did not expect such a jump of this magnitude.

“I wouldn’t have been so surprised if we had an increase, but it’s a very big increase,” he said.

Admissions officers at Wesleyan University faced similar confusion last year, when early decision application numbers rose by an unprecedented 34 percent.

Senior Associate Dean of Admissions Gregory Pyke attributes the rise to many possible factors, including Wesleyan’s expanded outreach efforts. Like Guttentag, he also saw a financial role in the increase.

“I think the notion of what is sometimes referred to as a ‘rush to quality’ plays a part,” Pyke said. “I think there’s this concept that in times of financial uncertainty, one of the things that families do in thinking about their kids’ education is make the judgment that a very high quality education is worth a larger investment than a good education.”

Several colleges have faced increases in early admission applications this year. The University of Chicago saw an increase of 56 percent in early action applications, while Brown University’s early decision application numbers rose by 21 percent, according to the New York Times.

Dartmouth University reported a smaller increase of 3 percent in early decision applications, which Dean of Admissions Maria Laskaris believes may be due to the appointment of a new president of the university and a need-blind admissions policy.

So what does Duke’s Class of 2014 look like?

“I was struck by what good people they were,” Guttentag said. “They really struck me as very engaged, active, really part of their communities. We admitted these 602 students essentially for 602 different reasons, but they’re really very likeable.”

Click here to read a Q&A with six high school seniors who were just admitted.

Guttentag noted that this year’s admitted students are somewhat more diverse than last year’s. There were more students from California admitted than in the past several years, and students of color make up 25 percent of the early decision class—only the second time in Duke’s history that they comprise such a portion of the population, he said.

The large increase in applications led to more students being denied this year than in the past, but Guttentag said that this does not reflect negatively on their qualifications.

“When we deny someone in early decision, it’s not to suggest that they weren’t qualified," Guttentag said. "It’s essentially to let them know that in our best judgment, we know that we would have ended up denying them in the regular decision pool, and we wanted them to have the opportunity to focus seriously on other colleges.”

The 713 students who were deferred will be re-evaluated in the spring, and past experience suggests that around 10 percent will be admitted.

With the early application decisions made, admissions officers are looking to the regular decision applicants to fill the remaining 1,100 spots in the Class of 2014.

“We’re delighted that we were able to admit the ones that were admitted and right now we’re starting to turn our attention to regular decision. We’ve started to get applications, but unfortunately many thousands will wait until the last week to apply,” Guttentag said with a laugh.

He said he does not expect to see a dramatic increase in regular decision applications this year.

“We saw a big spike last year. I don’t expect to see a similar spike this year. I don’t think we’ll see a decrease, but whether we’ll see an increase or how much it might be is at this point anybody’s guess,” Guttentag said.