January 4, 2010

Record numbers apply early decision to Johns Hopkins

The Office of Undergraduate Admissions recently sent out early decision acceptance letters and e-mails to 494 students, choosing the first members of the class of 2013 from the largest early decision applicant pool in the university’s history.

The record number of applications, 1,155, was up more than 10 percent from last year, and Johns Hopkins’ early decision applications have increased 138 percent over the past decade, according to John Latting, dean of undergraduate admissions. The previous record number was 1,055 in 2007.

The 494 students come from 36 states and 18 countries. The number includes three Baltimore Scholars. Two-thirds will attend the School of Arts and Sciences and one-third the School of Engineering. The anticipated incoming class size is 1,235.

Latting said that the high number of early decision applications is due in part to high school students and their families increasingly thinking strategically about the admission process and completing their college searches early.

The School of Nursing also reported a huge surge in early decision applications this year for its accelerated (13-month) nursing program. The 47 percent increase from last year was attributed to the growing interest in the field and a recent Gallup Poll that made nursing the most trusted profession in the country for the eighth consecutive year. Preliminary data from the Association of Colleges of Nursing show an overall 3.5 percent increase in nursing school enrollments nationwide.