Report from the Director of Admission
Whenever we of the admission team are having a bad day, we remind ourselves that 100% of the School’s raw material(i.e. students) and 75% of its annual revenue flow through this office. School opened with a near-record enrollment of 214 students from 20 states and 12 countries. 14% of the students were legacies, while 20% were international (non-US citizens). Our domestic diversity totaled 13%: 5% African-American, 4% Hispanic-American, 3% Asian-American, .5% Native American, .5% Arab-American. The proportion of boarding to day students was 3 to 1, a golden ratio espoused by the trustees as the ideal balance between these two populations.
Financial Aid Director Lois Barber managed the equitable distribution of over $1,200,000 to deserving and diverse families. This sizeable financial aid budget embodies Putney’s belief in socioeconomic diversity. Thirty-nine percent (39%) of our students receive financial aid–a remarkably high number for such a small boarding school. The average boarding student award was $18,201 while the corresponding day student award comes in at $7,110.
|
 Rick Cowan |
Although these numbers are encouraging, we of the admission team are most proud of the unquantifiable qualities students bring to our community. Their creativity, intelligence, and altruism, combined with their intellectual, artistic, and athletic gifts, bode well for the school’s future. To truly appreciate these qualities, one must walk the paths and visit classrooms and studios, dine in the KDU, attend morning assembly or watch an athletic event.
The folks most responsible for this happy picture are my faculty colleagues and the admission office staff: Lois Barber, assistant director of admission and director of financial aid, Jacob Cooper, office manager (to whom I must say good-bye and good luck as he moves on from Putney), Libby Holmes and Sydney Snyder, international admission coordinators, and Ann McBroom, admission assistant. In addition, we are pleased to report the continuing success of two student positions on the admission team; Kirsten Brewer and Sang-Mok Lee, both seniors, spent many hours reading files and discussing applicants with faculty and staff members of the Committee. We appreciate the valuable insight and thoughtfulness this peer review brought to the admission process.
The warmth, competence and hard work of the entire admission team have attracted a remarkable group of young people to Putney.
|