239 Fewer Applicants Ask Entrance to Class of '60

A marked drop in scholarship applications last year resulted in the smallest number of students seeking admission to the College since the war. The unofficial number of candidates for the Class of 1960 was 3,772, a decrease of 239 from the previous year.

At the same time, an Admission and Scholarship Newsletter reported that the acceptance percentage of those admitted rose sharply. Almost seventy percent of the 1,565 students admitted came to Cambridge, as compared with an average of 62 percent over the past five years.

The rise in percentage of acceptances upset plans both to admit a class of fifty less than last year, and also to reduce the number of resident students to 950.

To accomplish this, the admissions committee had hoped to lower the number of resident students by 100 and to increase the number of commuters by about 50. More than 1,000 resident students accepted, however, in addition to 80 commuters.

Despite the unexpected increase, the Class of 1960 with its 1,097 members is the smallest since the war. Last year's Freshman class numbered 1,116.

In discussing the drop in scholarship applications, the newsletter advanced three reasons for the decline:

1) Each year it has been necessary to turn down more and better students. This fact may have discouraged some from applying.

2) Wherever possible the Admissions Office has estimated a potential candidate's chances, and discouraged hopeless or marginal applications.

3) The new ten dollar application fee probably deterred some scholarship applicants, particularly the type who make multiple applications. This theory is borne out by the fact that the number of paying-customer applications remained virtually unchanged.

Pointing to the corresponding rise in percentage of acceptances, the newsletter concluded that the application drop was largely among students whose first choice was not Harvard.