Admissions Stats Break School Records

The Office of Undergraduate Admissions was a flurry of activity Wednesday afternoon as admissions officials ran to and fro, transporting large bins full of the highly anticipated thick DHL envelopes that more than 21,000 hopeful applicants all across the world-from New Jersey to Beijing-await with nervous excitement.

The overall admissions rate for the Columbia College class of 2011 was 8.9 percent, the lowest percentage ever at CC and the second lowest number in Ivy League history, trailing only the 8.6 percent admit rate Yale recorded last year. The School of Engineering and Applied Sciences admitted just 18.1 percent of its applicants, also a record.

Columbia College accepted 1,164 students regular decision into the class of 2011, out of a total applicant pool of 16,070. Meanwhile, SEAS accepted 452 of its regular decision applicants out of a pool of 2,844.

This year's early decision pools accounted for 44 percent of all admissions to both CC and SEAS. In December, the admissions office announced that 454 students were accepted to Columbia College, and 140 students were accepted to SEAS through the early process. This group of 21,343 students that applied to Columbia's two undergraduate schools represents an increase of 6.7 percent over last year's record high, with a combined admissions rate of 10.4 percent.

In addition to being the largest admissions pool in Columbia history, this year's admitted class is also one of the most diverse. Students admitted to the class of 2011 represent 49 of the 50 states-sorry, North Dakotans-and 54 countries outside the United States.

"You need people who are liberal, people who are conservative, people who grew up in cities, and those who grew up in rural settings, those who have lived in cultures outside of the U.S.," Director of Undergraduate Admissions Jessica Marinaccio said. "We have been seeking diversity."

"They are all extraordinarily bright and have all made different impacts on their communities," she said. "What the class as a whole brings is different voices, different experiences. ... That, hopefully, is what we try to construct."

Barnard has not yet released its numbers for the class of 2011.