Record Applicant Pool Made This the Most Competitive Year Ever for Admission to W&L

Dean of Admissions William Hartog knew this year was going to be one for the record books long before the January 15th application deadline. “The advent of our new Johnson Scholarship Program brought a great deal of positive attention to W&L this year, and that translated into the largest applicant pool in the University’s history,” he said.

The admission staff recently completed its review of the 6,385 applications submitted for the Class of 2012, representing all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the territories of Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, and 84 foreign countries. Only 968 students were offered admission to the 455-member class of first year students, for an admission rate of 15%. “This group of accepted students is the strongest ever admitted to W&L, by any measurable standard,” Hartog said.

Announced last spring, the Johnson Scholarship Program was made possible by a $100 million gift to the University from an alumnus. Each Johnson scholar--44 in each class, or almost 10 percent of the student body--will receive scholarships of full tuition, room and board. The gift also makes it possible for W&L to meet incoming students' financial need with grant aid. 

Further, the gift endows two new professorships (one centering on leadership and entrepreneurship and another on how individuals and ideas shape history), establishes a series of lectures and symposia focused on leadership and funds a summer program for some 30 rising seniors annually to pursue internships or projects allowing them to explore leadership and to develop their own potential.

“It is an exciting time to be part of the W&L community,” Dean Hartog said, “and the Johnson program ensures that excitement will continue for years to come.”