Agnes Scott, just ranked number two nationally as an “Up-and-Coming” liberal arts college, welcomes its fourth largest and its most diverse class in the college’s history.
ATLANTA — Agnes Scott College’s 2009 first-year class is the college’s largest in five years and its most diverse ever. The class is expected to be the fourth largest in the history of the college, according to Agnes Scott records dating back to the 1920s.
The college also received more than 2000 applications, its highest number of applications ever for the fall.
While final numbers won’t be available until after the fall semester begins, roughly 244 first-year students are expected to attend Agnes Scott this fall, up from a previous five-year high of 229 in 2005.
Agnes Scott’s enrollment increased by 6.5 percent over its previous high in 2005 and was up 36.3 percent compared to 2008 — a much larger increase than the national average. Enrollment among U.S. private colleges is projected to increase an average of just .2 percent this fall, according to a survey recently released by the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.
This year’s class of first years at Agnes Scott is 10 percent international (a significant increase over previous years) and has more than twice as many Latinas (non-international), rising to 16 students from 7 in 2008. International students hail from countries all over the world, including Myanmar, New Zealand, China, El Salvador, Vietnam and Haiti.
“It’s exciting to start the academic year with such an accomplished, vibrant and diverse first-year class,” said Elizabeth Kiss, president of Agnes Scott. “We’ve grown enrollment without compromising our high academic standards or our goal to create an increasingly diverse campus. I am especially pleased with the record number of international students and Latina students enrolling this fall.”
Agnes Scott’s higher enrollment numbers are due in part to an increasing number of parents and students who are worried about the cost of attending college out of state during a recession, said Lee Ann Afton, associate vice president for enrollment and dean of admissions at Agnes Scott.
“We knew that some students wouldn’t be as likely to go to school out of state, so we really focused our efforts on attracting Georgia students looking for in-state colleges,” Afton said.
About 48 percent of Agnes Scott’s incoming first-years are from Georgia.
The college’s new Agnes Solution program, which provides scholarships and incentives that cover half of a qualified in-state student’s Agnes Scott tuition, and a full staff in the admissions office also played vital roles in recruiting more students this year, Afton said.
In addition to its diversity, Agnes Scott’s first-year class is also well-rounded. Around 43 percent participate in community service projects, 40 percent played sports at their schools, 28 percent were musicians and 17 percent participated in drama and dance programs.
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Agnes Scott College educates women to think deeply, live honorably and engage the intellectual and social challenges of their times. Students are drawn to Agnes Scott by its excellent academic reputation, exceptional faculty, and metropolitan Atlanta location – offering myriad cultural and experiential learning opportunities. A diverse and growing residential community of scholars, this highly selective liberal arts and sciences college is known for its dynamic and challenging intellectual community. Encouraging students to engage the wider world through study abroad and presenting its curriculum with international context, Agnes Scott College delivers on its promise: The World for Women.