840

is the likely record size of this fall's freshman class

A prominent and übiquitous feature of the Hanover scene as Dartmouth resumed classes last month was the 1963 freshman hat. There was no exact count, for the moment, but the size of the entering class was estimated at 840 men, and there was no doubt about its being a Dartmouth record. The only other class that exceeded 800 when it matriculated was 1960, which numbered 805 men.

The Dartmouth admissions office was making no claim that "we planned it that way." The target figure for the Class of 1963 was 775 men, and in trying to hit it the College actually sent out 75 fewer letters of acceptance than it did last year when 771 freshmen entered. But the number accepting admission was higher than ever before, and summer attrition among this group was much lower than in recent years, with the result that a bumper crop of first-rate freshmen have joined the Dartmouth fellowship this fall.

Unexpectedly large freshman classes are reported by nearly all the Ivy colleges this year, leading to the surmise that something is happening to the multiple application game and that directors of admission will have to come up with new percentage formulas. Dartmouth's admissions director, Edward T. Chamberlain '36, believes that applicants are better informed and more realistic about their chances these days, and are applying within the Ivy group to just the one or two colleges they really hope to attend rather than to the whole group. The result: when admitted they accept and intend to come.

Dartmouth's record freshman class, contributing to a record undergraduate enrollment of more than 2900 men, has created a bit of a housing problem, especially with Middle Mass closed for the year while it is being fully renovated. However, some double rooms have been converted into triples, and East Hall (an old Clark School dorm) and the former Graduate Club behind South Mass are being pressed into service.

Statistics on the '63 men who actually matriculated will not be ready for a while, but among all the men accepted by Dartmouth this year the mean verbal score on CEEB tests was 598, compared with 584 for the same group last year, and the mean mathematical score was 640, compared with 616. The class contains a significantly larger group of men with high math scores.

The Class of 1963 is the first to enter under the experimental "early acceptance" plan. Secondary school seniors of exceptional qualifications are accepted in the fall or winter, rather than spring, if they definitely commit themselves to Dartmouth and drop applications to all other colleges. Of the 143 men who applied for early acceptance 96 were admitted. The rest were considered under the regular admission procedures.

The men in the Class of 1963 are expected to come from approximately 500 different schools. Their geographical distribution will also be very wide, with the group from the Far West likely to be the largest that has ever matriculated at Dartmouth.