MEDIA CONTACT: Charles R. Loebbaka at (847) 491-4887 or at c-loebbaka@northwestern.edu

September 23, 2003

Talented Freshmen Begin Classes in Evanston

EVANSTON, Ill. --- Approximately 1,945 freshman students, along with 133 transfer students, begin their academic careers at Northwestern on the first day of classes (Sept. 24), according to a preliminary count of students.

The Class of 2007 is one of the most talented classes academically to enter Northwestern. Their mean SAT score is 1389, the highest ever, and the mean class rank is at the 94th percentile, said Rebecca Dixon, associate provost of university enrollment.

The class includes 187 Valedictorians and 47 Salutatorians. A total of 962 students were in the top 10 percent of their high school class.

The freshmen came from an applicant pool of 14,135, about the same as last year, and 440 of them enrolled under Early Decision – about 22.6 percent of the class.

Freshmen from the United States represent a broad cross-section of the country, with geographic representation similar to last year. Approximately 44 percent are from the Midwest, including Illinois, with 23 percent of them from Illinois.

The total number of Midwest freshmen is 850. The breakdown of other geographic areas is 322 percent from the Middle Atlantic; 258 from the West; 178 from the South; 99 from the Southwest; 104 from New England; and 134 from overseas. (The 7 percent of freshmen enrolled from overseas includes those students who hold foreign passports and who also live outside the United States, as well as U.S. citizens who are now living outside the U. S.)

The top five states sending the most students are Illinois (443), California (152), New York (124), Ohio (91) and New Jersey (82).

The class includes 1,040 females and 905 males. A total of 516 students – 26.5 percent of the class -- reported minority backgrounds. They include 320 Asian Americans; 104 Hispanic/Latinos; 90 African Americans; and 2 American Indians. Total white enrollment is 1,200.

A total of 124 students are either multi-racial or did not check an ethnic identity on their application.

The enrollments by colleges and schools are:

1,081 in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences

344 in the Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science

213 in the School of Communication

163 in the Medill School of Journalism

112 in the School of Music

32 in the School of Education and Social Policy

Northwestern's professional schools started the academic year earlier. The School of Law enrolled 242 students, 92 percent of whom have at least one year of work experience and 67 percent with two or more years. The median LSAT score of this year's entering JD class is 169, up one point from last year and up five points from 1996.

At the Kellogg School of Management, the 536 students selected from more than 5,400 applicants in the two-year MBA program represent more than 35 countries. The one-year MBA program added another 90 students. The entering class also boasts the highest average GMAT score (703) in Kellogg’s history.

The entering class at the Feinberg School of Medicine consists of 170 students selected from an applicant pool of 5,597. Students come from 30 states and 11 foreign countries. The average MCAT scores are: Biological Sciences, 11; Physical Sciences, 10.8; Verbal, 10.4.