9/3/97
ATHENS, Ohio -- Another blue-ribbon freshman class on Ohio University's Athens campus begins school on Monday (Sept. 8), one that carries university-record ACT and SAT scores.
Director of Institutional Research Mike Williford said he expects freshman enrollment this fall to number about 3,400, up from 3,191 last fall quarter. A record 3,415 freshmen enrolled on the Athens campus in the fall of 1995.
"This is a very strong class," Williford said. "The thing that amazes us is that we admitted more students, but the good quality remained and even increased. Our numbers are still strong."
The ACT and SAT averages of the entering freshman class both broke records established by last fall's class, according to Institutional Research's preliminary figures. The Class of 2001's composite ACT and SAT scores of 23.9 and 1,110, respectively, represent a slight increase over the 23.8 and 1,106 scores of last fall's class.
The ACT English (23.6) score of this year's freshman was the same as last year, and the ACT Math (23.1) score was an improvement over 22.7 last year. The Class of 2001 also established record average scores in the SAT Verbal (557) and Math (553) categories.
Campus officials attribute the record numbers to the selective admissions process that began in the fall of 1986. At that time, the freshman class carried an average ACT Composite of 20.2 and class rank of 62.8. Freshman applications also have steadily increased since 7,638 applied for admission in 1986.
According to Institutional Research, a record 11,974 high school seniors applied for freshman admittance to the Athens campus this year, up from 11,252 last year and the previous record of 11,746 in 1995. Among this year's number, 8,956 were admitted this fall, an increase of 733 over a year ago.
"Ohio University is the kind of school that benefits from a lot of people who look closely at the price of college education," says Ohio University President Robert Glidden. "We're a benefactor of the rapidly rising costs of college tuition, especially at private institutions. We're attracting the high-quality student who doesn't want to pay that kind of money for college."
Ohio University was ranked the 25th-best buy in the nation and the best value in Ohio in Money magazine's annual college guide released in August.
The average high school rank of the incoming Ohio University freshman class is projected to be at the 74.6 percentile, down slightly from 75.0 last year. That means, on average, that incoming freshmen ranked in the top 25 percent of their class. The 1992 freshman class was at an all-time high, averaging in the 75.7 percentile.
The overall high school grade point average of freshmen who chose Ohio University has averaged from 3.3 to 3.4 in the past several years, said Director of Admissions Kip Howard. He said an average GPA for this year's class is not yet available.
Howard estimated that the number of applicants who listed Ohio University as their top college choice was similar to last year 83 percent. About 88 percent of this year's freshman class is from Ohio, he said.
Williford said the African-American enrollment of this year's freshman class should be similar to the 121 students who enrolled in 1996. Forty-five Hispanic freshman are enrolled for this fall, compared to 29 freshman last year.
Director of Housing Dale Tampke said the university doesn't expect a housing shortage, despite the increase in freshman enrollment. He said about 7,000 students are expected to be housed in 4,085 rooms in the 40 residence halls on campus. The residence halls can house a capacity of 7,068 students, he said.
Tampke said the addition of 10 student rooms due to renovations in 10 residence halls has allowed for more flexibility in student assignments.
Williford said he expects this year's combined undergraduate and graduate enrollment figures on the Athens campus to be slightly up from last fall's 18,997.