As we write this, acceptance letters have just gone out for the class of 2028. Our class’ own acceptance letters went out some 64 years ago just about now—the College’s calendar has changed little through this span of years. The selectivity percentage of applicants being admitted to Dartmouth this year was 5.3 percent out of 31,657 applicants, yielding 1,685 admittees (606 applicants using early decision, 1,079 using regular decision) and about 20 percent for all admittees in our class in 1960. Do you wonder if you would have been accepted with the current cohort of applicants? The truth is that many of us would not have made the cut! The competition nowadays has become fierce. Dartmouth is now attracting thousands of well-prepared applicants from 68 other countries around the world. Our class had barely a handful of international students. Amazingly, the full cost of attending Dartmouth in 2024-25 is $87,768, with the average scholarship covering 79 percent of the cost. We have access to comparable stats from Harvard for this year’s admittees and they show a different pattern—while Dartmouth had an increase in applicants year over year of 10 percent, Harvard’s decreased by 5.1 percent, from 56,937 to 54,008, admitting 1,937 this year (692 early decision and 1,245 regular decision) and 1,966 last. That might make for some head scratching.

We want to recognize Phil Schaefer for his many contributions to Dartmouth’s track and field program as head official of the pole vault. This past spring Phil received a certificate of appreciation after more than 20 years as a volunteer. Phil has accumulated a remarkable track record in service to Dartmouth and our class, including his efforts for the track and field program, as class secretary, creating the book of essays by class veterans, the Vietnam project, and our efforts for Ukrainian refuges in Romania. Well done and thank you, Phil!

Regrettably, we have had a further loss in our numbers as the following deaths have been reported to the College: Keith W. Dupree, Dexter R. Rowell, Gary W. Zuke, Ray D. Peters, and Peter H. Benzian.

That’s all for now. Best regards.

—Ray Neff, 3685 Fairway Dr., Norton Shores, MI 49441-7016; (616) 551-8595; rkneff@gmail.com; Robert C. Goodman Jr., Kaufman & Canoles, P.C., 2101 Parks Ave., Suite 700, Virginia Beach, VA 23451; (757) 624-3238; rcgoodman@kaufcan.com