Although Tufts only planned to enroll 1,300 freshman this year, an additional 75 new Jumbos will take part in Matriculation today due to an increased admissions yield.
Dean of Admissions Lee Coffin attributes the increase to the growth in the amount of financial aid given out this year.
"A substantial increase in our financial resources ... had a pronounced impact on our projection," he said in an e-mail to the Daily.
The ability to offer this aid is due to the success of Beyond Boundaries, Tufts' ongoing capital campaign, which was unveiled in November and aims to make admissions need-blind.
"The admissions department brought in a class that said 'yes' in a larger than anticipated number and the reason for that is primarily, they say, that the campaign goal of increasing financial aid ... allowed for a lot more people to [attend]," Dean of Student Affairs Bruce Reitman said.
According to Director of Financial Aid Patricia Reilly, the amount of money Tufts gave out this year increased by over $3 million. While the Class of 2010 received around $10 million in financial aid, the Class of 2011 is getting $13.2 million.
"Because we offered more financial aid awards to more students than we had in the past, it was difficult to predict the yield on this group," Reilly said.
As a result of a higher-than-usual yield, Tufts had to cut the number of transfer students from a planned class of 60 to 15, according to Coffin.
Another impact of the increase is that the Class of 2011 is the most economically diverse group that the university has enrolled "in recent memory," he said.
While a number of students benefitted from the extra $3 million Tufts was able to offer, some groups, such as international students, haven't yet felt the increase.
"We always offer a limited number of financial aid awards to international students," Reilly said. In the Class of 2011, there are 10 international students receiving financial aid.
Although the size and demographics of the incoming class differ from others, other trends have remained constant.
According to Coffin, the academic qualifications of the new freshmen match those of the rest of the students on campus.
"The enrolled Class of [2011] maintains the academic excellence of recent entering classes," he said.
Around 15,380 students applied last year, and 27 percent were admitted.
