With the fall semester a month and a half away, the University is preparing to accommodate one of its largest freshmen classes since 2010.
It began last fall when Gus Malzahn and his staff drew in more than a million people to the TV and stadiums. Coming off a 3-8 season, Malzahn was able to come in his first season and only lose one game while giving Auburn fans what seemed to be one of the most miraculous seasons in Auburn history.
Although the Auburn football team fell thirteen seconds short of winning its third national title, the University saw an increase in the form of the number sixteen.
President Gogue said the University receives around 20,000 applications for a class that is between 3,800 and 4,000 in a normal year.
The football team's miraculous turnaround, on top of perhaps two of the most exciting games in Auburn history, led to a 16 percent increase in the number of applications received by the end of fall, Gogue said during his State of the University Address this past February.
"We're up about 16 percent in terms of total applications this year versus last year," Gogue said. "And that certainly ties in with the success of our football program."
Now, five months after Gogue addressed the state of the university and the increase in applications, it's time for the University to gear up for the upcoming freshmen class.
First Year Experience, the group that coordinates Camp War Eagle, was not permitted to release the number of incoming freshmen but did confirm that this freshmen class is larger than the average class size.
Each year, thousands of girls arrive in Auburn early in order to participate in sorority recruitment with the hopes of getting in their favorite sorority. This year will not be any different from previous years besides the number of girls, according to Jill Moore, Director of Auburn Greek Life.
"We estimate there will be between 1,400 and 1,500 potential members this year," Moore said. "This is only about 200 more than our five-year average of 1,214. The Pi Chi groups might have two or three more people and we will need to order more supplies, but our process will not change."
Moore also said the number of new members will not effect the new member learning process that comes after recruitment is finished.
"We always want new member education processes to be safe and fun, " Moore said. "But the new member classes will not be big enough to mandate a change in the way we do things."
While Auburn does not lack much in its on campus dining, the University has funded the construction of a new dining facility, President Gogue said. This new facility will help alleviate the cluster that often happens in the student center during dining hours and also provide healthy alternatives.
"It will be open to all students and it's supposed to have all of these different choices of food that are color coated," Gogue said. "So, if you are on a gluten free diet, you will be able to pick all the foods that are that color."
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