Regular admission decisions were released for Hamilton College’s Class of 2026 on Friday, March 25, at 8:00 p.m. EST. The number of applicants increased by six percent from last year, totaling a record-high of 9,899.

This year’s applicants came from 137 countries and all 50 states. Out of these, 11.8% of them were admitted to the newest freshman class. This is the lowest acceptance rate on record for the college with 14.1% for the Class of 2025, 18.4% for the Class of 2024 and 16.3% for the Class of 2023.

There appears to be an overall upward trend in the number of applicants to Hamilton College, increasing from 8,339 students in 2019 and 9,380 in 2021. However, in 2020, during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of applicants decreased to 7,443.

Monica Inzer, Vice President for Enrollment Management, discussed the steps the college has taken to reach a wider audience. “One of the silver linings of COVID-19 is finding new ways to engage with students who can’t visit campus.” She referred to recent virtual programming such as Hamilton Hangouts, Tours from your Sofa, video interviews and Major Meetups, which all allow more students to interact with what Hamilton has to offer. These programs also make the college touring process more accessible to international students who may be unable to travel due to COVID-19 regulations.

The College has also been trying to encourage more applicants from marginalized and low-income communities. Inzer shares that the admissions committee has “been intentional about removing barriers in our application process (such as application fees for first-generation college students and allowing standardized test scores to be self-reported or optional altogether) so more students can be considered for admission to the College.”

While the College is now focusing on recruiting the currently accepted students to the Class of 2026, the enrollment team is looking to reach more students in future years, hopefully without the barriers of the pandemic. Their team is looking at different outreach strategies which include possible high school visits, a new website, and more in-person visits for upcoming years.

Upcoming developments from companies involved with college admissions will also force many colleges to revise the admissions process. One of these changes will be the College Board’s new SAT, a shorter online test that launches in 2023. Additionally, the Scoir College Network is a high school student database that will be releasing a new application similar to the Common Application. The College will therefore have to re-evaluate certain aspects of the admission process to accommodate these changes, and as Inzer exclaims, “we’ve got plenty to keep us busy as we plan for recruiting the future of Hamilton!”