Class of 2024 sets university record for yield, academic quality and diversity

For the fourth year in a row, Tulane’s incoming fall class will be the most selective, academically qualified and diverse in university history.

“We cannot wait to welcome this record-breaking class to campus in the fall, when we expect and are planning to resume on-ground teaching, learning, living and working,” said Tulane University President Mike Fitts. “These unprecedented times call for an unprecedented class.”

Tulane’s mission continues to resonate with prospective students, said Satyajit Dattagupta, vice president for enrollment management and dean of admission.

“Tulane was founded in 1834 to cure yellow fever and cholera, and still today we are an institution that is working on the front lines trying to combat COVID-19. Our students in the Class of 2024 want to join the Tulane community as a group that is constantly looking at issues that are impacting the world,” he said.

About 1,800 students will comprise the Class of 2024, representing a yield rate of 39% this year and a 73% increase over the last five years. Yield is measured as the percentage of students who accept an admission offer. 

“This is the one of the largest increases in yield for any institution in the nation,” Dattagupta said.

Despite the fact that the Office of Undergraduate Admission was not able to bring prospective students to campus during the pandemic, the Class of 2024 also will be the strongest academically qualified class to date. The average ACT score for this cohort is 32.

The class also represents growth in diversity: One-third of the incoming class will be made up of students of color and international students from 20 countries. That increase shows 65% growth over the past five years, although the university aspires to even greater diversity among its students.

“Our goal is to recruit a class that represents our country and the world,” Dattagupta added.

The university received almost 44,000 applications this year, a two-thirds increase over the past five years. The Class of 2024 represents a record acceptance rate of 11%.

When Tulane transitioned to distance learning in March, the Office of Undergraduate Admission held virtual information sessions, scheduled real-time campus tour videos, and hosted live online chats for incoming students so that students could feel connected to the Tulane community right away.