Swarthmore College welcomes 407 first-year students and eight transfer students to the campus community this week, as the 2015-16 academic year officially begins. This is the start of the College's 147th year of instruction.

The first-year class was selected from among 7,818 applicants, of whom 12 percent were offered admission.

“Our new students show a strong interest in pursuing a collaborative and challenging liberal arts education,” says Jim Bock ’90, vice president and dean of admissions. “The class is geographically diverse, with 13 percent representing 50 countries. In addition, we embrace the diversity of backgrounds, experiences, and ideas that our students bring to campus. I’m excited to see the first years become fully immersed in life at Swarthmore and translate their experiences here into a positive impact in the local and global community.” 

The Class of 2019 comprises 213 women and 194 men. Among the domestic students, seven percent identify themselves as African American, 12 percent as Hispanic/Latina/o, 19 percent as Asian American, one as Native Hawaiian, and six percent as multiracial. In addition, 18 percent are the first generation in their family to attend college.

Forty-one states are represented by the members of the incoming class as well as the District of Columbia. California is the most popular location for high schools among the new class, followed by New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Texas, Florida, Maryland, Connecticut, Delaware, Virginia, and Washington, all with double digit enrollment.

The Class of 2019 contains 89 members who are either dual citizens, permanent residents, or non-U.S. citizens representing Afghanistan, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Brazil, Cameroon, Canada, China, Croatia, Cuba, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Haiti, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Iran, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, South Korea, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Paraguay, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, and Zambia.

Fifty-three percent of the new students attended public high schools, 28 percent private independent schools, seven percent parochial schools, and 12 percent schools overseas. At least two students were home-schooled.

The most popular anticipated majors among Swarthmore’s newest students are engineering, economics, political science, biology, computer science, mathematics, environmental science, psychology, and English literature.