More students eyeing careers in business and nursing applied to Georgetown this year, with both the MSB and the NHS seeing sizable increases in the number of applicants to the class of 2015.

According to Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Charles Deacon, applications to the McDonough School of Business fell after the 2008 recession but are now on the rise.

Applicants interested in pre-medical studies and the School of Nursing and Health Studies are also increasing because of the practical use of such degrees, he added.

Deacon said that students’ academic preferences are also sensitive to current events.

“It pretty much follows the world,” he said, citing a similar increase in interest in the School of Foreign Service after Sept. 11, 2001.

Despite these changes, admission to Georgetown remained typically competitive. Of 19,275 applicants, 3,468 students were accepted into the Class of 2015 in total.

Applicants to the College of Arts and Sciences faced a 17 percent acceptance rate, the lowest of the four undergraduate schools.

“The college is the most competitive because it’s the catch-all for the undecideds,” Deacon said.

Based on historical averages, Deacon expects around 46 percent of admitted students to decide to come to Georgetown.

This yield rate is “very statistically predictable,” Deacon said.

While the overall yield is generally high, yield from black students is expected to be slightly lower than the total rate. Last year, about 42 percent of accepted black students decided to come to Georgetown.

At least two students from every state were admitted, though the incoming class may not include students from all 50. Only two students from North Dakota and three students from South Dakota received acceptance letters this week, while California, New York and New Jersey are home to the most applicants.

Deacon described New Jersey as “historically a net exporter of students, because they have no elite state universities and a fairly affluent population.”

Trends are similar in New York, Deacon said

Like last year, more women than men were admitted, Deacon said: 1,901 women were accepted compared to 1,567 men. This corresponds to the national trend of more women going to college, but Georgetown is closer to an even 50-50 split.

“By having a school of business, it balances out a bit,” Deacon said.

While Deacon cited multiple factors that can influence a student’s decision about where to apply and where to go to college, he said that Georgetown’s location sets it apart.

“These students are looking at elite universities so they have hard choices to make,” Deacon said. He cited Georgetown’s location in Washington, D.C., as a draw that consistently sets it apart from other top schools.

Deacon said the overwhelming interest in attending the first Georgetown Admissions Ambassador Program weekend was a good sign.

“We had to turn people away,” Deacon said, citing space considerations.