U. accepts highest percentage of applicants in Ivy League

The University accepted the highest percentage of its applicants of the eight Ivy League colleges and universities for the class of 1996, even though its acceptance rate decreased by eight percent. Princeton University led the Ivy League with the lowest acceptance rate of 15.8 percent, followed closely by Harvard University at 16 percent. Cornell University accepted the second-highest percentage of applicants -- 30.6 percent. The acceptance rates at most of the Ivy League schools remained unchanged from the previous year. Admissions Dean Willis Stetson downplayed the relevance of the University's acceptance rank, saying the University's larger class size contributes to the rate. "I feel the admissions rate is less important than the overall quality of the students, which has been rising over the last 10 years," Stetson said last night. "Due to Penn's relatively large class size, our admissions rate has been and probably will continue to be one of highest in the Ivy League." The University's 38.9 percent acceptance rate is a significant decrease from the 47 percent accepted last year, which is the fourth lowest rate in the University's history, according to Stetson. The University accepts the highest number of students of the all of the private schools in the Ivy League because its class sizes are significantly larger than those of the other schools. League-leading Princeton received 12,857 applications and offered 2036 students a place in next year's freshman class. The University admitted 4848 students out of 12,465 applicants. Assistant Admissions Director for Yale University Robert Gordon said it accepted 2425 of 11,053 students for a rate of 21.9 percent. This percentage is slightly higher than last year's 20.7 percent acceptance rate. Brown University showed the same acceptance rate as last year, accepting 23 percent of the 12,184 students who applied. Assistant Administrator Julia Bengochea said yesterday this rate is standard for Brown, which generally accepts between 22 and 24 percent. Dartmouth College also maintained the same acceptance rate as last year. Of more than 8000 applicants, the Admissions Office accepted 26 percent of them. Dartmouth Admissions Dean Alfred Quirk said the 26 percent acceptance rate is standard for the college, as well as for most of the schools in the League. He said all of them expect virtually the same yield -- the number of accepted students to enroll -- although Harvard is the major exception. "Harvard assumes a 74 yield, and Princeton and Yale expect 50 to 55 percent," he said. "Everyone else expects a 50 to 51 percent yield." Columbia College showed a marked decrease in its acceptance rate, falling from 32 to 28 percent. The school accepted 1898 of 6582 applicants, according to an article in The Spectator. Columbia University officials were unavailable for comment. Cornell University accepted 30.6 percent of their applicants. This percentage was unchanged from the previous year, according to Admissions Director Nancy Meislahn. Meislahn added the recession caused Admissions Officers to be unsure of the number of students willing to apply to a private college. "Times are so unpredictable [economically] in the country, so it was a bit of a surprise that [the acceptance rate ] mirrors last year's rate, she said. "We are expecting a yield of between 49 and 50 percent." But Stetson said the University attracts and enrolls high-calibur students even though its acceptance rate is relatively high. "[Our acceptance rate] says nothing about the success of Penn to enroll the very best of the students [applying to colleges and universities]," he said. "Penn is still a school of choice."

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