Spring Break
At Duke, things aren't so blue after all
By: Staff Editorial
Issue date: 6/14/07 Section: Editorial
Last update: 6/14/07 at 9:43 AM EST
Last update: 6/14/07 at 9:43 AM EST
It seems altogether fitting that admissions numbers for the Class of 2011 have come out at a time when Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong's handling of the lacrosse case is again making headlines.
After all, the incoming group of freshmen was the first to fill out applications after the lacrosse scandal broke. These stats are, in short, the ones everyone's been waiting for.
And they weren't too shabby after all. Although the statistics were not as jaw-dropping as Duke News may make them out to be, the numbers do indicate that the "Duke lacrosse scandal" did not deter prospective students from applying and probably hasn't struck as big a blow to the University as some had anticipated.
Perhaps, in short, Bloomberg News didn't tell the whole story when an article it ran May 2 asserted that according to students and parents, the so-called "Harvard of the South" was "not the magnet it used to be."
To the contrary, a total of 21 percent of the 19,206 high school seniors who applied to Duke were accepted this spring-the lowest "admit percentage" and second-highest number of applicants in Duke's history. Add to this the fact that yield has improved and the diversity of the Class of '11 is better than ever before, and all signs seem to point to the fact that Duke may actually grow back stronger from this whole ordeal, to steal the (translated) motto adopted by the 2006-2007 men's lacrosse team when they returned to the field this year.
Of course, there is still little doubt that admissions and the "Duke reputation" question will continue to loom large in the minds of administrators, students and alums. Admissions stats this year show that whereas Duke appeared to be on a meteoric rise two Junes ago, the University has now hit a plateau of sorts. Duke's Class of 2011 admit percentage trails all the "peer" Ivies, such as Cornell, Penn and Dartmouth.
In light of the challenges this school faced when it was put under a microscope in the media this past year, however, the newly released stats even have Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Christoph Guttentag a bit surprised.
After all, the incoming group of freshmen was the first to fill out applications after the lacrosse scandal broke. These stats are, in short, the ones everyone's been waiting for.
And they weren't too shabby after all. Although the statistics were not as jaw-dropping as Duke News may make them out to be, the numbers do indicate that the "Duke lacrosse scandal" did not deter prospective students from applying and probably hasn't struck as big a blow to the University as some had anticipated.
Perhaps, in short, Bloomberg News didn't tell the whole story when an article it ran May 2 asserted that according to students and parents, the so-called "Harvard of the South" was "not the magnet it used to be."
To the contrary, a total of 21 percent of the 19,206 high school seniors who applied to Duke were accepted this spring-the lowest "admit percentage" and second-highest number of applicants in Duke's history. Add to this the fact that yield has improved and the diversity of the Class of '11 is better than ever before, and all signs seem to point to the fact that Duke may actually grow back stronger from this whole ordeal, to steal the (translated) motto adopted by the 2006-2007 men's lacrosse team when they returned to the field this year.
Of course, there is still little doubt that admissions and the "Duke reputation" question will continue to loom large in the minds of administrators, students and alums. Admissions stats this year show that whereas Duke appeared to be on a meteoric rise two Junes ago, the University has now hit a plateau of sorts. Duke's Class of 2011 admit percentage trails all the "peer" Ivies, such as Cornell, Penn and Dartmouth.
In light of the challenges this school faced when it was put under a microscope in the media this past year, however, the newly released stats even have Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Christoph Guttentag a bit surprised.
Viewing Comments 1 - 10 of 28
Reader 63
posted 6/14/07 @ 12:21 PM EST
Let's see....
We have the same number of places for freshmen.
We have a higher number of applicants.
Of course the percentage of people accepted is going to go down!!! Why do we let Duke tout this number so often as an achievement?
That aside, the profile of the incoming Class is encouraging. (Continued…)
more info would have been helpful
posted 6/14/07 @ 6:35 PM EST
This is a puff piece. Unless one breaks down the stats as to who was admitted and as to who applied, one cannot decide if the lacrosse hoax hurt Duke's admissions. (Continued…)
faculty
posted 6/15/07 @ 8:53 AM EST
What are the academic metrics for those applying and admitted? Reading between the lines, one suspects they are not as good.
A
posted 6/15/07 @ 9:18 AM EST
There is now the "common application" students can fill out. Applications to other universities are up far more than Duke's.
Timothy T. Tweedy, PE
posted 6/16/07 @ 1:02 AM EST
Dear Sir or Madam:
Reading the admissions statistics on the website today, one should be aware that the amount of applications made per students is on the rise. (Continued…)
For Timothy Tweedy
posted 6/17/07 @ 6:01 AM EST
Mr. Tweedy, whose name is one of a man who's not afraid to post his opinions under his own name, may not be accustomed to the usual "Duke style" of debating critics of political-correctness, which normally consists of little more than name-calling and snide remarks. (Continued…)
For Anonymous
posted 6/17/07 @ 1:44 PM EST
I just realized who YOU are. Why else are there NO postings from you while Nifong is on TV? Because YOU are Nifong. Same opinions as he has, same hatred for every other person that he has. (Continued…)
Warren Warren
posted 6/17/07 @ 3:00 PM EST
What's wrong with the name 'Timothy T. Tweedy'?
Enginerd
posted 6/18/07 @ 9:20 AM EST
PE stands for Professional Engineer--- a title you gain by working in an engineering firm for 4+ years and passing a really hard exam.
Mr. Tweedy, I'm sorry that you have those opinions. (Continued…)
keith allen
posted 6/18/07 @ 10:11 AM EST
Any major university can make the same claims as are being presented here. Applications up, actual admissions more selective. Nothing special in this data. (Continued…)
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