653 Women Get Thick Letters

From an applicant pool that increased by 11 per cent over last year, Radcliffe accepted 653 women last week for 470 places in the class of 1977.

Although the increase in applications bodes well for Radcliffe, the stiff competition that it produces made at least one applicant nervous enough to send in a phony letter withdrawing another woman's application.

Harriet B. Belin, acting director of Radcliffe Admissions, said last week that the original acceptance total stood at 652 but was expanded to include the woman whose application was withdrawn without her knowledge by someone else.

Aside from this temporary disturbance in the admissions process, Radcliffe's decisions this year marked the first time that no applicant had to be rejected on the basis of a request for financial aid. Forty-eight per cent of the pool requested aid, and Radcliffe has offered some form of assistance to 198 women--approximately the same number as last year. This includes 21 who will receive loan aid only, with the rest receiving both gift assistance and loan aid.

The college accepted 89 women who applied for financial aid but did not qualify to receive it. Belin said that her office is particularly interested to see how many of these women decide to come here next Fall. She predicted that Radcliffe will lose a higher percentage from this group in contrast to the anticipated total yield of 71 per cent.

Although the number of applications from all minority groups except Puerto Ricans fell this year, acceptances stayed close to last year's numbers. Radcliffe offered places to 69 blacks, five Puerto Ricans, four Chicanos and one American Indian.

Acceptances to Radcliffe this year may result in a major shift in the geographical distribution of next year's freshman class. The numbers of women accepted from the Midwest and from the Rocky Mountain states almost doubled this year as compared to last, while there was a significant decrease in acceptances from the South. Belin said that the applicant pool from the South dropped by 20 per cent this year.