Officials admit University's brightest
By SCOTT BRODFUEHRER
Assistant News Editor
The Class of 2005 has done its job to raise admissions standards at Notre Dame. Like many classes before it, this year's incoming class is statistically the best class to ever enter the University.
The class hails from diverse backgrounds; incoming students traveled from all 50 states and 51 foreign countries to study at Notre Dame. According to Assistant Provost for Enrollment Dan Saracino, 17 percent are minorities, 4 percent are from foreign countries and 7 percent are the first generation of students in their families to attend college. Eighty-four percent are Catholic, 42 percent attended Catholic schools and 47 percent attended public schools. Nearly a quarter — 22 percent — have parents who are alumni.
Although the class comes from a diverse background, all excelled academically and were involved in extracurricular activities. The middle 50 percent of the class scored between a 1290 and a 1470 on the SAT and a 30 to a 33 on the ACT; 34 percent of the first-year students graduated as one of the top five students of their high school class. Seventy-three percent participated in a varsity sport, 37 percent were the captain of one or more sports teams, 45 percent were involved in an art, music or theater activity, 13 percent were editors of their high school papers and 6 percent were either the senior class or student body president.
The University has begun compiling a new statistic — the percentage of students whose parents are educators. This year the number stands at 24 percent. Saracino said this is impressive because the parents are in the business of education and respect the quality of a Notre Dame education.
According to Saracino, the quality of financial aid packages has fueled the increase in the caliber of students that choose to attend Notre Dame. The University now meets 100 percent of demonstrated need and has dedicated $13 million in University need-based scholarships this year to the freshman class alone, $3 million more than last year. Forty-four percent of freshman received need-based assistance this year, and Notre Dame wants to continue to increase the amount of financial aid it can offer.
"The competitiveness of our scholarship decisions is very close to the finest institutions in the country, sometimes better. We want to continue to grow our scholarship funds to address affordability concerns and the levels of debt," said Joseph Russo, director of financial aid.
All News Stories for Sunday, August 26, 2001
