Correction Appended:An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that the incoming freshman class has been at a record size for the fourth year in a row and that the yield rate of acceptances is 42 percent.
In a press release made public Wednesday morning, the University announced that it has received a record number of applications from the incoming freshman class for the fourth consecutive year.
The number of applicants to the University also reached an all-time high for the upcoming fall, with 31,599 applications sent to admissions, according to the release.
Of those 31,599 applicants, 15,979 were offered admission by Jun. 1, the press release reported.
Lester Monts, senior vice provost for academic affairs at the University, said in the release that the consistent growth in number of applicants reflects the prestige of the University’s undergraduate program.
“The steady growth in applications demonstrates the tangible value of a University of Michigan education,” Monts said in the press release. “Excellence in our undergraduate programs is by far the top priority among students and their families.”
The University confirmed in the press release that 6,900 students who have been accepted have paid their enrollment deposits thus far — a 43.2 percent yield rate of those accepted to the University.
With the possibility that some students who have already paid their deposits will ultimately decide not to attend the University, the projected size of the incoming freshman class is 6,350 students, a 300-person increase from the 2009-2010 year, the press release noted.
The press release also reported that the number of underrepresented minorities applying and accepted to the University has increased since last year. A total of 3,715 underrepresented minority students, identified in the release as students that identify themselves as African American, Hispanic American and Native American, applied to the University — a rise of 836 students from the previous year.
For prospective students in the future, the press release also announced that the University will, from here on out, use the Common Application instead of a separate application for the admissions process.
Ted Spencer, executive director of the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and associate vice provost for the University said that the choice to join the Common Application network came out of a desire to improve as well as simplify the application process.
“U-M decided to join the Common Application because we are always looking for ways to do better,” Spencer said in the press release. “Especially in these challenging economic times, we are looking for ways to do better with less. We believe the Common App will streamline the application process for students, teachers, and counselors.”
The University’s use of the Common Application network is scheduled to begin Aug. 1, the first day prospective students are allowed to submit applications to the University for the 2011-2012 freshman class.