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Incoming freshman class sets records
RELEASED: May 18, 2006
DANVILLE, KY—Once again, the incoming class of Centre College freshmen—the class of 2010—will be of record size, and will continue the trend of recent years towards greater diversity, according to information recently released by the Office of Admission.
As of this writing, 344 students have paid deposit fees for fall enrollment, another all-time record high. Allowing for typical "summer melt" (the tendency of some students to forfeit their deposits over the summer, for whatever reason), indications point to the incoming freshman class meeting or exceeding the optimal number of 320 students.
J. Carey Thompson, dean of admission and student financial planning, also noted the College's ability to be increasingly selective. "Our acceptance rate of 60 percent is an all-time Centre low."
Thompson added that the freshman class has 29 states represented, and that number of students from out of state (147) "represents another all-time high for the College."
Below are some other significant data trends among those who have committed to Centre for the coming year:
- 27.5 percent yield rate (percentage of admitted students who have made deposits), up from 25.5 percent last year
- 43 percent male
- 41 percent from out of state
- 62 percent in the top 10 percent of their high school class
- 27.55 average ACT score
- 58 of the incoming freshmen attended the Governor’s Scholar programs
Top states represented among the incoming freshmen are Kentucky, Tennessee, and Ohio, followed by Massachusetts, with 13 students, 10 of whom are the first group of students coming to Centre in partnership with the Posse Foundation. Posse recruits and trains youth leaders from urban public high schools and sends these groups as "posses" to top colleges and universities (click here for more about the Posse program).
Of the non-international incoming freshmen, 22 are students of color as compared to 16 last year.
Popular intended majors for the incoming freshmen include biology, economics, history, English and government, although, as is typical, "undecideds dwarf them all," says Thompson.
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Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices. For more, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/elevatorspeech/
For news archives go to http://www.centre.edu/web/news/newsarchive.html.
Communications Office
Centre College
600 W. Walnut Street
Danville, KY 40422
Public Information Coordinator: Telephone 859-238-5714