EARLY DECISION

Last year Brown switched from an early action to an early decision policy. This year, Brown initiated a new policy of not allowing early applicants to apply to early action schools. Previously, a student could have applied to early action schools like Harvard and Georgetown universities, but they would have been obligated to withdraw those applications if they were admitted to Brown.

Brown's new need-blind admission policy did not drastically alter the number of applicants accepted early decision or the makeup of the class of 2007 so far. Early decision applicants who applied fall of 2002 were the first to be considered under a completely need-blind policy.

The total number of early applications decreased by 55, from 1,918 last year to 1,863. Of those applications, 76 were from African American students, and 80 were from Latinos, an increase among both groups of 15 percent from last year. The number of Native American applicants more than doubled, and the number of Asian American applications stayed the same as last year. Asian Americans made up 12 percent of the applicant pool.

The decline in applications came mostly in international students and the major pockets on the East and West coasts, New York, Los Angeles, where we saw declines of 25 or 30 percent. There was also an increase in the percent of applicants who are male. Last year it was 38 percent, this year it's 42 percent.

Twenty-six percent of students who applied early this year were accepted - the same percentage that was accepted last year.

This percentage tied Brown with Columbia University for the third lowest acceptance rate in the Ivy League of the seven schools that reported this information.

The only notable shift this year was the slight increase in the number of minorities who applied and the percentage that were accepted.

Specific ethnic and racial breakdown of the early admission pool will not be available before all members of the class of 2007 have been accepted in May 2003.

The increase in minority applicants can be attributed to President Simmons' new academic enrichment initiatives and the University's improved commitment to financial aid. Admission officers were also pleased with the new initiatives, especially the need-blind policy, he said. Officers always felt some guilt in the past about having to turn people away for financial reasons.

REGULAR DECISION

Brown saw an increase in applications this year. Applications received totaled 15,153, up from 14,612 last year. Two hundred fewer offers were extended than in previous years, with 2,258 people - or 14.9 percent of applicants - accepted.

Twenty-two percent of applicants who applied early decision were accepted and 13 percent who applied regular decision were accepted. 1,400 admitted students are expected to matriculate.

Those admitted to the Class of 2007 reflected an increase in the number of students planning to pursue a bachelor of science degree. Twenty-nine percent reported interest in pursuing the sciences, compared to 27.5 percent in the Class of 2006.

The resulting class shows subtle increases in racial, ethnic and economic diversity. Students of color comprise 35 percent of the student body, as compared to 33 percent of the Class of 2006.

Among those admitted to the Class of 2007, 62 percent of students were offered financial aid, as compared to 56 percent the year before. The male-to-female ratio remains slightly tipped: 47 percent of those accepted are male and 53 percent female.

Geographic distributions are largely the same as those from last year. California contributes the greatest number of admitted students with 13 percent, closely followed by New York with 12 percent and the combined input of Rhode Island and Connecticut with 9 percent. International students comprise 11 percent of those accepted.

North Dakota is the only state without a representative in the Class of 2007.

NEW NEED BLIND POLICY

Brown University became the final Ivy League university to adopt a need-blind admissions policy this year, as Brown President Ruth J. Simmons presented the University Corporation with a new proposal entitled, "Proposal for Academic Enrichment."

A need-blind admissions policy means that Brown will admit students without consideration of their ability to pay. Once students are admitted, the University will make the final decision as to how much aid the student will receive.

Currently, Brown admits 90 percent of each class of students on a need-blind basis. The remaining ten percent are admitted with some attention paid to finances.

Brown's new admissions policy will begin with the class of 2007. The admissions rule will not apply to international students. According to the Brown admissions office, nine percent of students at the University are international students.

Brown will not require students receiving financial aid to work in their first year on campus. In order to pay for the need-blind admissions rule, charges for undergraduates at Brown will increase 4.6 percent to $36,356 for the next academic year. In addition, the University plans to draw money from its endowment.

The need blind admissions policy was included as part of a larger proposal developed by the University Corporation. Additional decisions made by the university included adding as many as 100 new faculty members in the next five to ten years, increasing support for graduate students and investing more money in the university's libraries, academic space and information technology.

Brown will increase its annual budget to $36 million. The budget is expected to spend $78 million over the next three years. The university's budget will be considered by the Corporation at its last meeting of the year in May 2003.