Application Rates, Endowment rise in 2007

Carnegie Mellon experienced impressive growth during 2007, capped by a 19.2% increase in applicants for the 2007-08 school year over the previous year, according to the Office of Admissions. In addition to the university's top-ranked education, world-class reputation, and unique interdisciplinary environment, students enjoy the small faculty-to-student ratio in a city rich in culture and history.

Contributing to Carnegie Mellon's unparalleled instruction is a number of programs that are designed to boost the pipeline of future engineering and science students. The Summer Academy for Math and Science (SAMS) targets students from traditionally underrepresented groups and prepares them for an education and career in these fields. Similarly, Carnegie Mellon's Small Undergraduate Research Grant (SURG) program awards grants to undergraduates in all fields of study.

Successful programs such as SAMS and SURG rely on a combination of talented students, dedicated faculty and staff, and support from generous donors such as alumni, corporations, and foundations. Contributions received by Carnegie Mellon are used to design and build strong programs and research projects, as well as maintain existing facilities or construct new ones.

A growing number of companies and foundations are supporting the burgeoning resources at Carnegie Mellon. Last year, the university's endowment grew by 18.5%, money that ensures our success year after year.

Increased endowment contributions have far-reaching implications. Potential students have said that their decision to attend Carnegie Mellon is often based in part on the quality of companies and foundations that support the university, many of whom maintain a presence on campus to recruit the best and brightest upon graduation. Thus, the entire student tenure - from classroom to career - is strengthened as our partners support Carnegie Mellon's mission. Occasionally, those partners will team up to bring about necessary funding for revolutionary projects, such as the generous gifts from both PPG and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to purchase a Titan 80-300 microscope. 

For those of you worried that increased undergraduate applications might threaten the favorable ratios, President Jared Cohon reassures us that "We have no plans to increase the undergraduate student body."

Students can count on the same level of professor interaction that they've come to expect at Carnegie Mellon. And thanks to our generous partners, students can rest assured that the programs they came here to find will be here for years to come.

--Douglas Phillips