College’s Early Decision Applicant Pool Breaks Record

This week, Davidson College offered admission to 207 students from a record-breaking 458 early decision round one applicants for the Class of 2020.

This year's applicant pool marked a seven percent increase over 2014 early decision round one figures.

Davidson mailed decision letters and posted the results online on Dec. 14 at 9 p.m. EST.

"Early decision is a crucial first step in shaping our incoming class and it is exciting to see genuine interest in Davidson growing each year," said Chris Gruber, vice president/dean of admission and financial aid. "This is a stellar pool of students–I am especially proud of who the admitted students are and what they have accomplished, and I am anxious to see who they will become at Davidson."

The growing interest in Davidson–early decision applicants have already identified Davidson as their first choice and if they are accepted, they commit to enroll–comes at a time when U.S. college enrollment is in decline. The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center announced yesterday that overall enrollment at U.S. colleges dropped by 1.7 percent this fall, with private, nonprofit four-year schools reporting a 0.3 percent decline in the current semester.

The 207 students admitted to Davidson form approximately 40 percent of the class of 2020. Nineteen percent of the admitted students hail from North Carolina, the state with the best representation in this early sample of the class. Seventy-three are scholar-athletes who will play Division 1 sports for the Davidson Wildcats.

The class will be completed through a second early decision application process, which closes on Jan. 2, 2016, and regular decision, which has an application deadline of Jan. 5.