Earlham College | News from Public Affairs

Director of Admissions Nancy Sinex entertains newly arrived students and their parents at Goddard Auditorium with her annual analysis of the incoming class.

How exciting to look out on your faces and be reminded of the exceptional group of students who applied for admission to Earlham for this school year. How much better it is to actually see you in person and to be reacquainted. This summer, I spent some time reading through your application files — again — this time to gather some interesting facts so that we could tell you a little about yourselves and help define the character of the entering class of 2007, with most of you, hopefully, becoming the graduating class of 2011. This part of the official college welcome has become a New Student Orientation tradition, one I hope you can tolerate now and will appreciate more later. So bear with me for about 10 minutes as I, in great detail, tell you about yourselves.

You number 331 students most of whom are just beginning your college careers, while others — 14 of you — have transferred to Earlham from other institutions of higher education. Fourteen of you from Japan and the Czech Republic are "visiting" with us for just this year. Twenty-three of you took a "gap" year and share a myriad of experiences since graduating from high school. You come from 38 states and 27 foreign countries and represent 258 different high schools. Three of you are home-schooled. At least 53 of you have homes outside of the United States — coming to Earlham from Japan, the Netherlands, Israel, Niger, Uganda, Jamaica, Zimbabwe, Colombia, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Nicaragua, Nepal, Bangladesh, Taiwan, Swaziland, China, Bulgaria, India, Turkey, South Korea, Romania, Macedonia, Bolivia, Ghana, Guatemala, the Czech Republic and Sri Lanka. The states represented by the greatest number of new students are California, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Ohio, Illinois, New York, Indiana, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Michigan. Ten of you are the only representative from your state in the new class. We offer a special welcome to those students from Arkansas, Utah, Arizona, Tennessee, Delaware, Rhode Island, Idaho, Oklahoma, Kansas and New Hampshire.

Thirty-four of you are Quakers, and 50 have relatives who attended or are attending Earlham — some of whom are parents, grandparents or siblings joining us in the audience today. At the time you applied, you had 488 siblings. Forty-seven of you are the only child in your family. Four of you are twins (we have one set of twins enrolling) and 10 of you have twins among your siblings, including one family with two sets of twins. More of you were born in the month of June than during any other month of the year. December 8 and February 11 are the most prolific birth dates, with five of you sharing birthdays on each of those days. As has become our practice, we want to recognize the student having a birthday on or closest to the first day of New Student Orientation. We have one student who celebrated his birthday yesterday: Max Thayer.

The most popular name in the class is after a long absence … Sara(h). There are eight of you, five with the "h" and three without. There are also five Williams, Emilys, Michaels and Matthews and four Andrews, Nicholases, Benjamins, Rachel/Rachaels and Jameses. (I'm disappointed to report to my fellow faculty on the stage that there are no Dougs, Gregs, Deborahs or Nancys in the class.) Together you scored 323,960 points on the SAT. The National Merit Scholarship Corporation named three of you National Merit Finalists. On average you completed 49 classes or units of study in high school and, collectively, submitted 1,646 college applications.

The essays accompanying your applications helped the admissions committee learn more about who you are, what you think, what challenges you have faced or are facing, what issues are important to you — all things that continue to inform your lives. The subjects of your essays included important people, whether family members, coaches, teachers, neighbors or friends. Wesley, Chad, Casey, Tori, Robyn, Dorothy, David, Laura — were or are some of the important role models or life shapers mentioned in your essays. You wrote passionately about relief work and fundraising in the continuing aftermath of Katrina, learning English as a second language, living simply, the genocide in Darfur, global warming, the struggle of a parent diagnosed with cancer, studying abroad, important friendships, animal rights, religious intolerance, embracing diversity, caring for a sibling with special needs and the continuing struggle to educate your nation's people about AIDS. We read about various wilderness adventures, music recitals, athletic competitions, growing up as an only child or within a multicultural family, studying abroad and experiencing acceptance. On a lighter note you expressed anxiety about leaving for college, writing your college essay, mastering calculus and celebrating very unique holiday traditions.

Your stated career preferences include clinical psychologist, surgeon, firefighter, Latin professor, wildlife biologist, engineer, anthropologist, environmental or human rights activist, musician, elementary school teacher, record producer, artist, policy analyst, museum curator, international relief worker, diplomat, architect and film director — to mention a few. There are students among you who aspire to be President of the United States, a rock musician, a test kitchen chef, an equine dentist or a professional athlete. A number of you talked about wanting to explore the world and never having a job working in a cubicle. Many, if not most, of you remain undecided about your future career paths and are "leaving your options open." One student remarked, "I'm less concerned with what career I enter, as long as it comes with two weeks' vacation and a dental plan."

You have traveled to, studied, lived or performed in more than 100 different countries outside of the United States — from the Dominican Republic to Denmark, Panama to Pakistan, Iran to Ireland, Angola to Austria, Ethiopia to Estonia, Cambodia to Chile and Germany to Guatemala. Many of you have hosted international students in your homes. Some have participated in programs like Youth for Understanding, AFS, Rotary International, People to People, Amigos, and the Experiment in International Living. You have studied and or speak fluently at least 50 different languages.

Special summer or pre-college experiences and internships have included the Earth Service Corps, the Fisheries Research Institute in Alaska, the Vanderbilt University's Surgical Oncology Department, Planned Parenthood, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Witness for Peace and Global Exchange, the Appalachia Service Project, the American Friends Service Committee, Outward Bound, and the Sierra Club. Those students taking a gap year in their educational pursuits used that time to experience life on a kibbutz; design, construct, and reside in a Mongolian yurt; hone one's blacksmithing skills; work on an organic farm; improve their Italian language skills; intern with the Student Conservation Association; volunteer with City Year in Boston; and work and travel the world.