Next year’s matriculating students finally make their way to Andover after a record high of applications and a record low acceptance rate in this year’s admissions cycle. A total of 451 students were accepted from 2,712 completed applications, the most in Andover history. This year’s acceptance rate of 16.6 percent is a decrease from last year’s 19 percent. After reading 1,682 completed applications from ninth grade applicants, the Admissions Office accepted 279 students for next year’s Junior class, waitlisting and denying 1,403 applications, according to Jane Fried, Dean of Admission. In addition to the class of 2013, the Admissions Office also admitted total of 180 new Lowers, Uppers, Seniors and Post-Graduates. The Admissions Office received 403 more completed applications this year, an 18-percent jump up from last year and the largest increase in a single year, said Fried. Fried wrote in an email that she suspected the large increase in applications was due to need-blind admission, broader recruitment efforts and recent cuts in public school budgets. In light of the economic downturn, more families requested financial aid information on my preliminary applications this year—61 percent this year compared to 55 percent last year—according to James Ventre, Director of Financial Aid. Under the need-blind admission policy, Andover granted financial aid to 35 percent of admitted students. Thirty-one of the admitted students were offered full financial aid. Fried said that the Admissions Office expects 45 percent of all new students in next year’s matriculating class to be on financial aid. Ventre said, “In the need-blind admission process, we ultimately offered about the same financial aid to a slightly larger number of students as compared to last year.” The financial aid budget for this year was $14,557,000, about a million-dollar increase from last year’s financial aid budget of $13,314,000, said Fried. According to the Andover website, $4,868,100 from this year’s budget was awarded to new students. “I think it’s just extraordinary that in such economic climate the school has received such a response from across the country and across the world,” said Fried in an interview. “I think need-blind is attracting students, but I also think that the strength of the program and the community is a real draw and beacon for families,” she continued. According to Fried, Alumni Admission Representatives and faculty helped to admissions efforts by holding a total of 1,111 interviews. This week, several students volunteered to give tours or help with the Spring Visits. Rekha Auguste-Nelson ’09, Co-Head of the Andover Ambassadors Board, said “We were up to our maximum capacity of families on Wednesday for spring visits. We had about 80 families.” The newly admitted students hail from 38 states and 27 different countries. Andover saw an increase in the number of international student applicants. Students were admitted from the Netherlands, Thailand and Jamaica, as well as Qatar and Myanmar, two countries not represented in last year’s group of accepted students. The Admissions Office also saw a 19 percent increase in the number of boarding applicants and an eight percent increase in the number of day student applicants. Aside from financial incentives for students, Fried wrote, “Families are drawn to Andover for its extraordinary program and its diverse and warm community.” Miranda Haymon ’12, a host for Wednesday’s Spring Visit, “I noticed that several students were impressed by how welcome and enthusiastic Andover students were to host them.” Andover’s Music Department draws many music-oriented applicants. Elizabeth Aureden, Chair of the Music Department, said that faculty members in music reviewed a 360 recordings, an increase from last year. “We observed that the general quality of applications seems to be improving,” said Aureden. “We had a higher number of students with our top ranking than in the past few years.” Applicants were also involved in student government, sports and humanitarian work. According to Fried, 55 percent participate in community service initiatives. Admitted students demonstrated a range of unique talents, including gypsy jazz guitar playing, diablo juggling and political activism. One admitted student from Albania researched a project on environmental management and protecting children from air pollution. Twenty-three percent of students identified themselves as Asian, Asian-American or Biracial Asian, and 13 percent as Native American, African-American or Biracial.
