The number of applications for fall 2009 undergraduate admission increased by 26 percent this year, according to newly released statistics from the admissions office.Director of Enrollment Deena Whitfield said next year's incoming class was chosen from a pool of 7,344 applicants, allowing the University to choose more selectively and from a larger, more diverse group of applicants.

Whitfield said she estimates that the overall acceptance rate will ultimately be around 38 percent, depending on the number of applicants accepted from the waitlist. Of last year's incoming class, 40.3 percent of applicants were accepted, she said.

She also said 83 percent of those accepted earned SAT scores of over 1300, a four percent increase from last year.

"The admissions focus was on bringing in the best possible class by every measure," Whitfield said.

Students were accepted from all 50 states and 39 foreign countries. Among those already accepted, 20.3 percent of those defined themselves as students of color, an increase of 17.2 percent from last year's incoming class. Of the class of 2009 applicants, 169 students were accepted early decision.

Whitfield cautioned against using these statistics to predict the actual makeup of the class of 2009, because not all those accepted will choose to attend.

The statistics also state that 87 percent of this year's applicants ranked in the top ten percent of their high school class-up from last year's 80 percent-while 110 applicants ranked first in their class.

A significant change in the admissions process this year was the distribution of "Blue Ribbon" applications, which gives applications to select high school students nation-wide who expressed interest in attending the University.

Whitfield said these students meet "a variety of criteria that included geographic diversity, ethnic diversity, special talents and high achievement."

The Blue Ribbon Application combines questions from the Common Application and the Brandeis Application, along with a letter that invites these select students to apply to Brandeis without an application fee.



-Hannah Furst contributed

to this article