With an acceptance rate near 18.5 percent, the Class of 2011 is the most selective class in the history of Bowdoin College, according to figures released Thursday by the Admissions Office.
Drawn from a record pool of 5,899 applicants, the class is roughly three percentage points more competitive than the Class of 2010, which accepted 21.6 percent of applicants.
The number of admitted students also decreased?only 1,105 students were admitted to this fall's class, while 1,170 were selected to represent the Class of 2010.
Out of the accepted students, 573 are men, while 532 are women. According to Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Bill Shain, the disparity is intentional, since the College has lately experienced a higher yield from women than men. The figures are intended to create a class with roughly equal numbers of both sexes.
Shain also observed several trends among the pool of accepted students, including increases in the number of students from public schools and those hailing from the Mid-Atlantic states.
"57 percent of accepted students this year are from public schools, compared with 55 percent last year," he said.
The number of accepted minorities also increased slightly. Shain cited the success of events like the Bowdoin Invitational, a weekend catered to prospective minority students every October, as helping to bring about a more diverse class.