We became much better with our communication strategies and our publications. But because Bucknell now competes for students with more prestigious schools, higher standards of performance are called for. Skelton says that achieving the strategic admissions goals for the next five years will further enhance Bucknell's reputation. The acceptance rate is the percentage of students Bucknell accepts for admission from its applicant pool. The top schools in the benchmarking group, such as Duke, Cornell, and Middlebury, have acceptance rates that typically range from 30 to 35 percent.
Yield is defined as the percentage of students who accept the university's offer of admission.
Skelton points out that Bucknell's yield depends on the number of other schools students apply to and their success with those schools. The university's 1996-97 yield of 25 percent compares to an average 33 percent rate in the benchmarking group. As Bucknell's academic reputation increases, the university aims to attract students of higher quality. Increasing the number of minority students from the current 9 percent of the student body to approximately 15 percent by 2001-02. Increasing the number of students from middle-income families.