Despite the drop in number of applicants to the class of 2013 last year, early decision applicants to the class of 2014 have remained constant this spring.

Early decision I (EDI) application numbers were similar to the numbers in 2009, Senior Associate Director of Undergraduate Admissions Ronnie McKnight and Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Jean Jordan wrote in a joint e-mail to the Wheel.

Of the 709 students who applied during the first round of early admissions, 350, or 49 percent, of students were admitted. According to McKnight, the University typically accepts 45 percent of applicants during EDI, but the rate of admission is not a large concern during the first round.

“In early decision, we’re eager to admit the talented and qualified student from the pool, so we don’t worry about the admit rate as much as the admission criteria such as rigor of curriculum, GPAs, activities, scores, diversity, etc.,” McKnight wrote.

Students accepted during EDI yielded an average GPA of 3.72, average SAT scores of 2000 and an average ACT score of 30.

McKnight wrote that the demographics of the EDI applicant pool have changed, but that “there are not many surprises.”

“Our numbers from the West and Southwest have increased as have our international numbers,” he wrote of the admitted students. “Of course, we still draw heavily from traditionally strong markets in the Southeast and Northeast.”

The majority of accepted students in the United States come from Georgia, New York, Florida, New Jersey and California, and internationally, China and South Korea.

Although there are typically fewer applicants during the second round of early admissions, McKnight wrote that those students will be held to the same standards.

“We review the files in both rounds in the same way and with the same expectations, so a talented student will be competitive in either round of early decision,” he wrote.

Among next fall’s class are 11 QuestBridge Scholars. QuestBridge is a college match program that aims to provide low-income students with full scholarships to 27 top universities across the nation. Last year, more than 800 prospective students applied to Emory through QuestBridge, and McKnight wrote that he is expecting similar numbers this year.

Despite financial aid and scholarship opportunities including QuestBridge and the Emory Scholars program, McKnight wrote that he thinks there are students who choose not to apply early decision in order to compare financial aid packages and scholarship offers during the regular decision process.

He added that Emory accepts students on a need-blind basis and uses the same financial aid review process for both early and regular decision applicants, so aid will not change based on when students apply.

EDII decisions will be available on Feb. 15 and regular admission decisions, which were due last month, will be announced April 1.

McKnight wrote that the admission committee’s review process changes very little from year to year, and that students are reviewed based not only on rigor of course of study, test scores and grades but also on activities, accomplishments, essays and recommendations.

“We consider all that we are able to learn about the candidates via their application materials,” McKnight wrote and added, “We’re always interested in admitting the most talented class possible and creating a class that’s diverse in many, many ways — from various backgrounds and with diverse interests and talents.”

— Contact Alice Chen.