August 31, 2010

They are only children, twins, triplets, adoptees and immigrants.

They are Muslim, Quaker, Jewish, Christian, Zionist, atheist, vegan and vegetarian, among many, many other things.

They have an unprecedented prowess at chess and interest in film.

And they are all now, officially, Amherst College undergraduates.

What follows is a “Harper’s Index”-style overview of this year’s new students.

  • Applications received for the Class of 2014: A record 8,088
  • Students admitted: 1,240, just 15.3 percent of the applicant pool
  • Applicants who enrolled: 491
  • Transfer admission applications received: 420
  • Transfer students admitted: 24, or 5.7 percent
  • Transfers who enrolled: 18
  • States represented by the incoming students: 34, plus the District of Columbia and 29 foreign countries
  • Percentage of new undergraduates who are male: 49
  • Percentage who identify themselves as students of color: 42
  • Percentage who are not U.S. citizens: 9
  • Percentage who are first-generation college students:18
  • Percentage receiving financial aid from Amherst: 59
  • Age range of the new undergraduates: 16 to 22
  • Most common name among the women: Alexandra
  • Most common name among the men: Daniel
  • Percentage of students who graduated in the top decile of their high school classes: 87
  • Number of schools represented by the incoming students: 389, including magnet and public schools, science and technology academies, foreign language institutes, United World Colleges, arts institutes, experimental schools, community colleges, prep and charter schools
  • Students who were admitted earlier and then deferred college until now to embark various adventures: 15 undergraduates, who, during that time, made four continents, a nature preserve, a sloop, a fort, a hockey rink and the military their own temporary classrooms
  • Languages spoken by the incoming students: 23