Boston University’s appeal is growing, judging by the rising numbers of high school students wanting to attend. The 33,894 applications for the Class of 2011 — the most in BU’s history — represent a 6.5 percent increase over last year.
“The increase is evenly distributed across all schools and colleges, geographic areas, and ethnicities,” says Laurie Pohl, vice president for enrollment and student affairs. “It’s a very solid pool.”
One of the areas that saw a jump was minority applicants. African-Americans submitted 1,638 applications, up 11.4 percent from last year, and Hispanic and Latino students sent in 2,457 applications, an increase of 6 percent.
A number of factors is fueling the increase in applicants, says Kelly Walter, executive director of admissions. “One is that BU continues to be more of a first choice institution for students.”
Walter says the pool of eighteen-year-olds graduating from high school is bigger, and students are applying to more colleges than ever. “College admissions are more unpredictable today than ten years ago,” she says. “Students apply to eight to ten colleges on average. It used to be five to six schools.”
And more international students are considering BU. The University received 2,955 applications this year, up 10.8 percent.
For example, applications from Taiwan, Thailand, Greece, Italy, Germany, India, and Turkey were up, but the biggest jump — 82.6 percent — came from China. The geographic mix remained stable, however, with applicants from all 50 states and 128 foreign countries.
Other statistics for the Class of 2011 remain virtually unchanged. Female applicants account for 59.2 percent of the total, a 0.1 decrease from last year.
Average SAT scores in critical reading and math, at 1260, are just 3 points lower. Average high school GPA (3.45) and average class rank (top 15 percent) are unchanged. Almost 80 percent of the 33,894 applicants are in the top 10 percent of their high school class.
