“The University’s commitment last fall to improving and strengthening the recruitment of students to Auburn along with the Board of Trustees’ support for the Spirit of Auburn scholarship program are key factors in the improved academic profile of our freshman class,” said Wayne Alderman, Auburn University’s Dean of Enrollment Services.
This year, 4,191 freshmen enrolled at Auburn, setting the second-largest freshmen enrollment record on history. The record was set in 2005 with 4,197 students.
The freshmen who entered Auburn this fall have an average ACT score of 24.8, which is higher than any freshmen class since as far back as at least 1992. Last year, 4,092 students enrolled in the freshmen class, and they had an average ACT score of 24.3.
The middle 50 percent of students at Auburn have an ACT score between 22 and 28. When the average score increases, Alderman said the retention rate of students at Auburn improves.
The average high school GPA for this year’s freshmen class is 3.61, up from 3.56 last year.
Alderman said the increase in scores is partly because of recruitment.
“The University has restructured our recruitment process,” Alderman said.
Not only is the freshmen class the smartest. The class also exceeded last year’s totals in almost every category of demographics.
The freshmen class of 2007 has 2,477 freshmen from in-state, compared to 2,472 last fall. The out-of-state freshmen enrollment increased as well, from 1,620 last year to 1,714 this year. More than 40 percent of the current freshmen class comes from outside Alabama.
The number of minority freshmen enrolled this year is 706, up from 691 last year. Transfer freshmen also increased enrollment, with 1,307 this year, topping last year’s 1,278.
“Every year we get more and more applications,” Alderman said. “Auburn is a popular place to be in school.”
Alderman said the goal for freshmen class enrollment is 4,000 students, but Auburn was above that goal last year and this year.
“It makes it a little more of a challenge for the schools and colleges when we’re higher than the goal,” he said.
While the freshmen class saw increases across the board, graduate student enrollment had a 4 percent increase in enrollment, the largest increase this year. Last year, 3,245 graduate students were enrolled at Auburn, but the number jumped to 3,375 students this year. Undergraduate enrollment increased more than 2 percent this year, with 19,812 students currently at Auburn. Last year, 19,367 undergraduate students were enrolled.
Auburn’s first-professional student enrollment jumped 1.6 percent this year, going from 935 students last year to 950 students this year.
