University enrollment is at an all-time high despite a smaller incoming freshman class than last year, according to data released by the University’s Office of the Registrar this morning.
By the Numbers
University enrollment
42,716
Number of students enrolled at the University, a record high for the third consecutive year
6,251
Freshmen enrollment at the University, a 3.8% decrease from the previous year
3.8
Average high school grade point average of the class of 2015
10.5%
Percentage of underrepresented minorities in the class of 2015
For the third-straight year, the University’s student population has grown to its largest size ever with 42,716 students enrolled this semester, up from 41,924 students last fall. The growth can be attributed to a 2.8-percent increase in graduate students and a 1.4-percent increase in undergraduates.
At 6,251 students, this year’s freshman class is about 3.8-percent smaller than last year’s class of 6,496 students. The University also received its largest number of freshman applicants ever — a 25-percent increase from the 2009-2010 application cycle, which is attributed to the University’s switch to the Common Application last year.
Last year, the University enrolled a freshman class larger than projected numbers. This year, however, the University was “gratified” that it met its enrollment targets, University Provost Philip Hanlon said in an interview with The Michigan Daily last month.
The average high school grade point average for this year’s freshman class was a 3.8, with 19 percent earning a perfect 4.0 GPA. Additionally, more than 34 percent of freshmen students scored between 31 and 36 on the ACT, compared to 4 percent of students across the country who scored in that range.
“The bottom line is that the quality of the class — if you measure by test scores and GPA — by those measures, it’s the best we’ve ever admitted,” Hanlon said last month.
Underrepresented minority students account for 10.5 percent of the freshman class — a small drop from last year when underrepresented minorities composed 10.6 percent of the freshman class.
Despite the stable underrepresented minority enrollment, Lester Monts, the University’s senior vice provost for academic affairs, wrote in a press release issued today that the University appreciates “the overall excellence and diversity” of the class of 2015.
“In light of the challenging demographics in our country, we acknowledge the care and intentionality, in our Office of Admissions and among the University’s schools and colleges, that is required to develop such a great class,” Monts wrote.