During the 2001-2002 academic year, despite the difficulty of travel, the Scripps College Office of Admission staff visited 358 high schools throughout the United States and abroad; we attended 26 national and regional college fairs, hosted 24 major receptions from Honolulu to Atlanta, and responded to 10,650 requests for information.
We evaluated 1,481 applications, and I know that because I read every last one of them – and from that number, we culled this group, the Class of 2006, and our new transfer students. Our first year class numbers 226 strong, the largest class Scripps has seen in seven years, and is joined by 19 additional outstanding students who came to know Scripps later in their educational careers.
In all, this select group of 245 brings us tremendous academic strength and intellectual curiosity. Forty-nine percent of our incoming first year students have earned a total of 266 Scripps course credits through their honors performance in Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate courses. Thirty-one students brought in an additional 73 Scripps credits for work they accomplished at colleges and universities during their high school careers.
Looked at another way, this class has already completed over 42 full years of college work. Taking that thought out a bit, 10 of you have already completed your college education and may pick up your diplomas at the end of this program. One of you may enter as a junior.
The National Merit Corporation recognized 49 of our incoming first years for their outstanding performance on the National Merit Qualifying Test; this group includes 20 National Merit Scholars, a new record for Scripps College, and more than any other women’s college in the country – including those Big Girls Back East.
Our new students sport GPAs and standardized test results that made them competitive candidates at the most selective institutions in the country, and for the sixth year in a row, we watched students say no to the Ivy League, and the little Ivies, and outstanding public institutions so that they could experience the intimacy and intensity of a Scripps education.
They are, however, so much more than simply academicians. Building a community isn’t about lining up a series of scores and admitting from top to bottom. Our challenge in the Office of Admission each year is to sculpt a class so bright, so diverse, so engaged, so energetic, so curious, that on any given day they will learn as much simply by connecting with each other as they will from all the traditional venues of education Scripps College offers.
And I promise that this year’s class won’t disappoint.
The class speaks eighteen languages including Cantonese, Farsi, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Mandarin, Polish, Spanish, Swedish, Taiwanese, Thai, Turkish and Vietnamese.
We also have students skilled in Latin, Ancient Greek, American Sign Language and Korean Sign Language.
While forty one percent attended high school in California, the remaining 59 percent come from high schools in 34 states and 10 foreign countries.
Some of our students come from right here in Claremont, and we are always grateful and happy to see such talent in our own backyard.
Others come from:
Fairhope, Alabama Boonville, CA Tulsa, OK, Cody, WY And Billings, MT.
The come from Bangkok, Hong Kong, Seoul, and Kuala Lumpur New York, New York.
The come from Moscow, the one in Idaho, And Zurich, the one in Switzerland Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Calais, VT Hilo, Hawaii Savage, Minnesota, Nashville;Tallahassee; and Bluefield, WV They come from Etna, California, just 30 miles south of the Oregon border.
We have two students from the raisin capital of the world, Fresno A student from the sweet onion capital of Walla Walla,Washington Another from the artichoke capital of Castroville, And yet another from the wine capital, Napa CA. For a while there the admission committee wasn’t sure if it was building a class or preparing dinner.
This group is comprised of gritty hard workers, inspired performers, and fearless risk takers.
In their midst are:
A junior Olympic water polo player An artist commissioned by the Minneapolis Center to create a poster 5 actors who have starred in commercials and one in a music video Several published authors An American student who co-hosted a radio show – in Japanese And several students who raise puppies for Guide Dogs of America
Last year we had many participants in mock trial, so many that I warned the Dean of Students at this very opening event we might have a particularly litigious group. This year I am pleased to report a preponderance of peer mediators, so we are expecting smoother going.
We have a member of the Swiss National Unihockey Team, The US Open Swing Dance team champion The 2001-2002 National acrobatic champion A student who sang at the White House, One who sang at Carnegie Hall, And another who opened a Mariners game with the National Anthem We have a ranked tennis player Several clothing designers A Girls State delegate A student ambassador to Australia
One young woman works in her dad’s machine shop, and helps her grandfather herd cattle.
Did I mention we have an oxen trainer??
We have a bowl turner, a woodworker, a calligrapher, a glassblower, and many photographers A national fiddle champion An equestrian champion, an Irish Dancing champion, a state champion in the 100 meter hurdles We have leaders of all kinds, editors in chief, student body presidents, 28 team captains
As of the application reading season, 32 of you had read the entire Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings series, or both. I suspect that number is higher now that summer is over. This should allow for some painless icebreaking.
The class includes dancers of all kinds, tap, jazz, ballet, modern, ballroom, hula, Irish, Tahitian, Traditional Korean, swing, and my personal favorite, tribal belly.
We have a multitude of musicians playing all kinds of instruments, flute, French horn, guitar, marimbas, oboe, piano, pipe organ, recorder, saxophone, ukulele, violin, xylophone, and last but certainly not least, the Chinese harp, or Zither.
We have many fine athletes who run and swim fast, and jump high, and throw hard; they participate in everything from acrobatics to yoga, with 34 sports in between, including snowboarding, netball, and fencing.
The group includes researchers of all kinds, archeological, biological, oceanographic, atmospheric.
And lest you think beauty and brains don’t mix, I must point out that the group includes a number of professional models as well.
This group is good of heart, and has given freely of their time and their compassion. In their desire to extend beyond the boundaries of their high school lives, they have given endlessly of their energy to hospitals, schools, Special Olympics, Sunday Schools, soup kitchens, AIDS education groups. One young woman donates the entire stipend she earns from singing with a professional choir to charity. Several students understand the concept of charity beginning at home, and spend countless hours helping siblings with disabilities become productive human beings. Another young woman rides her bike through LA each day just to visit her lonely grandma. These are not the things one does to pad a high school resume.
My favorite question on the Scripps application for admission asks, “do you have any skills or attributes not listed elsewhere in your application?,” which is where I learned that one student can write backwards, one taught herself to juggle, one decorates cakes, and several purport to be fine cooks. We have one young woman working toward her private pilot’s license, which might come in handy if you need to get home quickly. One student shared that she can chicken fight while walking on her hands. Do you wonder how long it took to perfect that skill? Another told us, “My fingers bend backwards at an almost ninety degree angle from
the palm of my hand. This is so unusual that, for two years, I was known as ‘Fingers’ throughout the school.”
I honestly don’t know whether to ask “Fingers” to stand and be recognized, or to grant her a clean slate.
President Bekavac, Dean Lamkin, Ms. Tomlin, Ms. Poitra-Chalmers,
It is true we have much to teach these young women, and I for one am humbled that they’ve entrusted their continued development to our guidance. We also have much to learn from them. With tremendous pride, I present our new students to you, and to the Scripps community.