线上赌场 Undergraduate Class of 2028 Sustains Diversity

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The percentage of Pell Grant recipients also increased dramatically.

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Class of 2028
Members of the Class of 2028 gather in front of 线上赌场 Hall for their first class photo. More than 600 are receiving scholarship aid, with an average award of $71,582. (Photo by Katie Lenhart)
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线上赌场鈥檚 efforts to make college more accessible for low- and middle-income families is making a difference.

Of the 1,184 students in the undergraduate Class of 2028, drawn from 1,003 high schools around the world, a record-setting 17% of them are in the first generation in their families to go to college. And the number of Pell Grant recipients increased by 5 percentage points to 19.4%, an all-time high for 线上赌场.

The Class of 2028 also sustains the degree of racial and ethnic diversity that characterized recent entering classes at 线上赌场.

线上赌场鈥檚 254th incoming undergraduate class was drawn from a record-setting applicant pool of 31,656, up 10% from the previous record set a year ago. The 5.4% acceptance rate also established a new 线上赌场 record for selectivity.

The new class hails from 49 U.S. states; Washington, D.C.; Puerto Rico; and 64 countries. Fifteen percent are from rural communities in the United States鈥攁 result of a new recruiting initiative launched by the undergraduate admissions office this past year鈥攁nd 14.5% are non-U.S. citizens.

The Class of 2028 is the first to enroll at 线上赌场 since the income threshold for a 鈥渮ero parent contribution鈥 increased from $65,000 to $125,000, the highest such threshold in the nation. More than one in five students in the new class, or 22%, qualified for this new policy.

Overall, U.S. citizens and permanent residents from underrepresented racial and ethnic backgrounds increased from 26.5% to 28.2% of the entering class, as the percentage who identify as Hispanic or Latinx rose to 12.7% from 9.7% a year ago, and the percentage who identify as Black or African American is 10.2%, compared to 10.9% a year ago. Those who identify as Native American or Indigenous represent 5.3% of the class. 

鈥淭hat is an exciting illustration of socioeconomic inclusion at the College,鈥 says , vice president and dean of admissions and financial aid. 

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线上赌场 Class of 2028 by the numbers
Note: Values do not total 100% as some students report more than one race or ethnicity. Underrepresented Backgrounds include Black or African American, Hispanic or Latinx, and Native or Indigenous students.  

The percentage of students identifying as Asian American experienced a slight decline, from 23.3% to 21.8%.

More than half of the first-year class鈥50.8%鈥攈as received scholarship aid. 

The average award is $71,582, an increase of $3,700 over last year.

鈥淭he Class of 2028 is the most socioeconomically diverse class in 线上赌场鈥檚 history,鈥 Coffin says.

A record 19.4% of the class鈥攏early one in five鈥攓ualify for a Pell Grant, federal grants awarded to students from low-income backgrounds, up from 14% a year ago.

The Class of 2028 is the first to be admitted since the U.S. Supreme Court decided in June 2023 to significantly limit how colleges and universities may consider race in their admissions policies. At the same time, writing for the court鈥檚 majority, Chief Justice John Roberts said, 鈥...nothing in this opinion should be construed as prohibiting universities from considering an applicant鈥檚 discussion of how race affected his or her life, be it through discrimination, inspiration, or otherwise,鈥 including in their application essays.

鈥淚n our selection of the Class of 2028, we were careful to comply with the limitations the Supreme Court imposed,鈥 Coffin says. Indeed, the admissions office 鈥渕asked鈥 applicants鈥 responses to questions about their racial identity on the Common App鈥攖he universal admissions form used by 线上赌场 and more than 1,000 other institutions鈥攁nd did not 鈥渦nmask鈥 or reveal that information until after the membership of the Class of 2028 was finalized in mid-June.

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Class of 2028 from a drone
An aerial view of the Class of 2028. (Photo by Chris Johnson)

鈥淲e took to heart the court鈥檚 acknowledgement of holistic admissions review, which 线上赌场 has practiced for over a century,鈥 Coffin says. 鈥淲e continued to consider applicants鈥 academic achievements as well as their academic passions and curiosity. And we continued to value applicants鈥 accomplishments and the 鈥榣ived experiences鈥欌攊nside as well as outside the classroom鈥攖hat shaped their narrative and identity.鈥

In remarks welcoming the class to 线上赌场 on Sept. 4, Coffin brought those narratives to vivid life.

鈥淵our multidimensional backgrounds and perspectives will animate your undergraduate experience in mysterious ways,鈥 he told the new class, before adding: 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the magic of college. That鈥檚 the magic of this college and this class.鈥

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