Class of 2023: Tulane welcomes most selective and diverse class yet

When the Tulane University community officially welcomes members of the Class of 2023 next fall, it’ll be a record-setting welcome.

The newest class of Tulanians includes just over 1,800 students. With more than 41,000 applications (6% more applications than last year), that equals an acceptance rate of 13%, the most selective class in university history. Moreover, Tulane’s yield — the number of students who were admitted into the university who actually go on to enroll — rose to about 35%, an increase over last year’s 29%. The yield rate has steadily increased and has improved 52% over 2015.

The Class of 2023 is one of the academically strongest, too, with a converted average SAT score of 1463.

Satyajit Dattagupta, vice president of enrollment management and dean of undergraduate admission, cited a number of factors that contributed to the enviable statistics of the Class of 2023.

“The Tulane experience is resonating with a lot of academically strong high school seniors,” said Dattagupta, citing “the ability to come into Newcomb-Tulane College and really have their entire paths open to them, in terms of which majors they can choose; the interdisciplinarity that we can provide; the fact that so many of our students do a double major; research opportunities; the ability to engage in the community and really cross boundaries — that’s why our numbers are where they are.”

Last year, the university hosted a conference that attracted guidance counselors nationwide, which resulted in increased awareness among high school students, Dattagupta said.

The new class is also diverse, with almost one-third identifying as a student of color or an international student. The states with the most students in the Class of 2023 are California, New York and Louisiana. Twenty-seven countries are represented.

“An institution of our caliber should have students that come from different parts of the country and the world,” Dattagupta said. “It’s the most global class.”