Class of 1966 Accepting Up Two Per Cent

The rate of acceptances by high school students admitted as freshmen is running two per cent ahead of any in recent years, Humphrey Doermann '52, director of Admissions, said yesterday.

If the present 91 per cent acceptance-rate continues, some 1155 applicants will already be enrolled in the Class of '66, 30 more than the Admissions Office expected. As a result, the number of students now on the waiting list who will be sent letters of admission will drop from 50 to 20.

Doermann said, however, that there might still be a sharp drop-off in the acceptance rate before the May 1 deadline. More than 450 of the incoming group are still to be heard from. In any case, the larger percentage of admitted students planning to come to the College will not result in overcrowding until the number of acceptances is 50 more than anticipated.

Doermann called the deviation of 30 out of 1450 insignificant. "It would be hard to give a reason for the higher yield," he said, but he named Harvard's increasingly good reputation and effects of alumni recruiting activities as contributing factors.

Scholarship offers have been made to 435 candidates, of whom about 350 are expected to accept membership in next year's freshman class. These 350 will receive a total of approximately $440,000, roughly equal to the amount awarded last year. Included in the class: 90 Merit winners.

Radcliffe notices of admission were sent to 391 applicants nine days after Harvard mailed its letters. The college expects 300 to accept; 76 were admitted under the early decision plan.