UA FRESHMAN ENROLLMENT INCREASES OVER 14%, TEST SCORES AND DIVERSITY UP

FAYETTEVILLE, ARK. -- The University of Arkansas has enrolled the largest freshman class in recent history: 2,557 new on-campus freshmen, a 14.1 percent increase over the 2,240 enrolled in fall 1997, according to preliminary enrollment figures released today by the University.

That increase in new freshmen also swelled the University's total headcount of enrolled students (undergraduate through graduate and professional schools) to 14,752, a 2.5 percent increase over the 14,384 enrolled last year.

In a report to the University Faculty Senate today, Chancellor John A. White noted that the new freshman class is not only the largest, but also best academically and the most diverse in racial and ethnic composition.

"This year's enrollment figures show a dramatic surge of interest among talented and diverse young Arkansans in taking advantage of the many high quality academic programs the University offers," White added. "We are seeing some success in our efforts to recruit these excellent students to the University, rather than having them go out of state and losing the lifelong contributions they can make to the state as Arkansas residents."

The average ACT score of this year's freshman class, for example, is 24, an increase from the average 23.3 ACT score of last year's freshman class. Statewide, the average score for Arkansas ACT takers last year was 20.3.

In addition, the University enrolled 379 new freshmen with ACT scores of 30 or greater. This is an increase of 122 percent over the 171 new freshmen last year who scored similarly.

The number of new Chancellor's Scholars -- who receive scholarships providing full tuition, room and board -- increased dramatically in this year's freshman class, from 41 last year to 489 this year. Two-thirds of the new freshman Chancellor's Scholars have high school grade point averages of a perfect 4.0.

Minority freshman enrollments--African-American, American Indian, Asian/Pacific Islander, and Hispanic--also increased dramatically, by 30 percent, from 255 last year to 330 this year. New freshman African Americans (the largest minority population at the University) increased 23.2 percent, from 125 last year to 154 this year. In addition, there was a 300 percent increase in the number of new African-American freshmen who scored 28 or higher on their ACT.

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