ED Admits Comprise 48 Percent of Class of 2017

The College received a total of 699 Early Decision I applications this past fall, representing an eight percent increase from last year. Forty-two percent of applicants, or 295 students, were admitted. Of those admitted, 274 will arrive on campus in September as members of the class of 2017, and 21 will be representing the class of 2017.5.

“Middlebury has traditionally had a pretty significant Early Decision pool compared to our peers,” said Dean of Admissions Gregory Buckles. According to Buckles, the number of early decision applicants changes from year to year, but generally hovers between six and seven hundred.

For the second year in a row, the College Admissions Office has reversed the ratio of deferred to denied among Early Decision applicants. Previously, approximately twice as many applicants were deferred than were denied. This year, 156 students were deferred and 281 applicants were denied.

“We want to be able to say to students who are deferred ED that they have a realistic shot,” Buckles said. “We’re trying to focus more on students we really do think would be able to have a chance in the spring.”

The change was made to allow students who likely will not be offered admission the chance to make other plans. “It’s educationally the better thing to do,” said Buckles.

In reviewing and deciding upon Early Decision applications, the College Admissions Office aimed to fill between 45 and 48 percent of the incoming first-year class.

While the College remains strictly need-blind for domestic applicants, the Admissions Office employs a need-aware policy for international and transfer students. Thirty percent of students admitted Early Decision were offered financial aid. The Admissions Office aims to admit 43 percent of the entire class with financial aid.

Forty-three percent of admitted students were recruited for varsity athletics, a number that is on par with past Early Decision admissions statistics.

Recruited athletes are evaluated based on two rating scales, both ranging from one t0 seven — one is based on talent and the other is based on character.

“[The New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC)] has very strict guidelines to ensure that athletes are representative of the entire student body,” Buckles said. “There’s no student athlete who’s going to be admitted who would be below the standards of any other student here.”

All applicants receive a grade on a scale of one to seven, comparable to the scale used for athletes.

“Forty-eight percent of the students admitted ED this year were rated a six or higher academically,” said Buckles.

A rating of a six indicates a student with a minimum SAT score of 2190 or ACT score of 32, virtually all A’s across his or her transcript, and is someone who has taken the most rigorous courses offered by his or her school. According to Buckles, this academic rating is the highest it has ever been. Forty percent of last year’s ED class received an academic rating of six or higher.

Eleven percent of students accepted Early Decision are first-generation college students, and 10 percent are legacies.

Forty-five percent of admitted Early Decision applicants hail from New England, 23 percent are from the Mid-Atlantic, five percent are from the Midwest, seven percent are from Southern states, 17 percent are from the Southwest, and five percent are from outside of the United States.