More prospective students applied to Boston University than to those institutions the administration considers its peers, but the percentage of accepted students who will choose to enroll at BU will likely lag behind the “yield” rate of peers, according to a Daily Free Press analysis of available statistics for past freshman classes.
In the most recent application cycle, 38,000 students applied for acceptance to BU in the 2008-09 academic year, said BU spokesman Colin Riley. The incoming class’s size is targeted at 4,200 students, he said. The Office of Admissions has not yet released the total number of admitted applicants for the Class of 2012.
Last year, 19,888 students were accepted out of 33,930 applicants — an acceptance rate of 59 percent — according to College Board figures available on its website. Of those accepted, 4,163 students decided to take up BU’s offer and join the Class of 2011, giving the university a relatively low yield rate of 20 percent, according to the BU Common Data Set.
When colleges accept large percentages of their applicants, but these accepted students decide to enroll at other schools, the institution’s yield is considered low. A low yield rate could mean the school is considered a “safety” or “second choice” option for many applicants, according to the U.S. News ‘ World Report 2008 college rankings.
A high yield rate is desirable because it means the university “is most likely very popular with a top reputation and that the students are highly motivated to go there,” the magazine explains.
BU does not receive a large number of early admission applications, from students who agree to a binding enrollment policy when they apply to the school.
“We do not receive a lot of early admission applications. We generally receive very few as a percentage,” Riley said. “When students ask, we generally say it’s better to be considered in the regular application pool.”
BU President Robert Brown said the school’s top competitors for admissions are George Washington University, New York University, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Southern California.
“The way I look at peers is who we compete with for our students,” Brown said in an interview. “When you look at where they apply, I think about peers as a set of urban, large, diverse, private universities.”
GWU received “well over 19,300” applications this year, GWU spokeswoman Tracy Schario said. The target number for the Class of 2012 is 2,350 students.
Although GWU’s Office of Admissions has yet to release the total number of admitted applicants, the acceptance rate last year was just over 36 percent, according to the GWU Common Data Set. Of the 36 percent offered a spot in the freshman class – in total 7,197 students -2,137 actually registered for the fall semester, generating a 29.7 percent yield.
In comparison, UPenn accepted nearly 4,000 students for the 2008-09 academic year, UPenn spokesman Ron Ozio said. For the Class of 2012, the school received 22,932 applications, and the UPenn freshman class average 2,200 students.
Though not all accepted students have replied yet, Ozio said spots were offered to 3,771 students, giving the school a 58 percent yield rate.
For the 2007-08 academic year, USC accepted 25 percent of its applicants, according to the College Board. More than 37,000 students applied, according to the Daily Trojan. USC’s yield rate was 36 percent, with 3,150 students actually enrolling in the Class of 2011.
USC received 35,809 applicants this year, but about 2,600, or 21 percent, of those applicants will be accepted, according to a USC press release.
NYU officials were unavailable for comment, but 34,389 students applied for the 2007-08 academic year according to the NYU Common Data Set. Of those, 12,615, or 36 percent, were admitted. The yield rate was at 38 percent as 4,890 students ultimately enrolled at the university.
BU’s 20 percent yield is low in comparison to GWU’s 29.7 percent, UPenn’s 58 percent, USC’s 36 percent and NYU’s 38 percent rates. Brown made his goal of transforming BU into a top-tier research university known in a 10-year strategic plan released last spring.
Before admissions decisions were mailed, Brown said “the real challenge” for BU is its student body diversity.
“The real challenge we have is having the right kind of diversity in the undergraduate class, a socioeconomic diversity,” he said. “The efforts are about recruiting, trying to get the qualified applications and hopefully our financial aid packages make it work.”
This year’s round of applications showed an increase in ethnic diversity, Riley said. The Admissions Office saw a 22 percent increase in African-American and Hispanic applicants, he said.
“Those are the minority groups that we have had some success in recruiting,” he said.
