Northwestern admitted 8 percent more applicants for the Class of 2012 — 6,327 — than for last year, officials said Monday, as part of a record-setting class with the greatest number of applicants and highest SAT scores in university history.
A record 25,027 students applied to Northwestern for the coming fall, making for a 25.3 percent acceptance rate, according to Associate Provost Michael Mills. The mean SAT score of the prospective students was a record 1468, out of 1600, while 91.8 percent of those admitted are in the top 10 percent in their class.
Last year, 21,941 students applied and 27 percent were admitted.
Some prospective students have already embraced Northwestern. As of Monday night, more than 870 people were part of the “Northwestern 2012″ Facebook group.
“I’m excited about being a Wildcat,” said Michael Sobolewski, a Chicago high school senior who was in the group. “It will be nice being surrounded by so many talented and creative people.”
For Adam Docksey, Northwestern’s appeal lies in it being an alternative to other top-tier schools.
“NU seemed cooler and more friendly than the uptight rep that the Ivies have,” he said. “After the perpetual stress of high school, loading up on APs and freaking out whenever any test came along, I’m looking forward to do something I want to do, not something that just satisfies the system,” he said. “NU is so outside the box, I can’t wait to live there, learn there, and grow there. I have a strong feeling that place is Mecca.”
Although interested in Northwestern, financial concerns are a reason why some, such as Carlos Cabrera, are unsure about whether they will attend the school.
“The hefty tuition is a huge setback,” he said.