Record Applications Lead to Most Selective Freshman Class in School History

DePaul University's fall 2004 enrollment figures have been released, and the statistics show that the university has again enrolled an all-time record number of undergraduate students, while also recruiting one the most selective freshman classes in school history.

This fall's freshman class tallied 2,317 students, an increase of 56 students over 2003. Fewer than 70 percent of the record 10,087 prospective freshmen submitting applications were admitted to the university, and the freshman class demonstrates a composite mean score of approximately 24 on the ACT and 1,130 on the SAT, as well as a mean high school GPA of 3.3.

"DePaul's high quality programs, respected faculty, diverse student body and exceptional student-focused services and facilities continue to make us an academic destination of choice," said David Kalsbeek, vice president for enrollment management at DePaul.

Undergraduate enrollment for the fall is 14,717, an increase of 132 students, or one percent, over last year. Total enrollment – graduate and undergraduate – has leveled off at 23,570 students, a decrease of 40 students, or two-tenths of one percent, from last fall. However, DePaul will retain its position as the nation’s largest Catholic university. DePaul is also the eighth-largest private, not-for-profit university in the country, and the only one in the top 10 with a primary mission of teaching and service.

DePaul was able to maintain its commitment to a diverse student body in this year's class, with minority students making up nearly one-third of the freshman population. More than 15 percent of the class is Hispanic/Latino, just over eight percent is Asian/Pacific Islander, and more than seven percent is African American. The class is 59 percent female. Freshmen hail from 43 different states, and 75 percent of the class is from the state of Illinois, one-third of whom hail from the City of Chicago.

DePaul also saw dramatic gains in its groundbreaking, online distance learning programs for both graduate and undergraduate students. The number of credit hours taken via distance learning is up by 65 percent, and it now exceeds the total number of credit hours taken at the university's suburban campuses. Because of the flexibility that these courses offer adult students who work full-time, almost half of the enrollments in DePaul's School for New Learning are in distance learning courses.

Graduate enrollment at the university dropped slightly to 7,651, a decrease of 222 students, due primarily to the local economy's impact on part-time students' enrollment in business and computer science programs. However, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences saw an increase in graduate enrollment of nearly five percent, to 1,500 students, and the School of Education saw a one percent increase in graduate enrollment. Also, the College of Law, which features nationally-ranked health law and intellectual property programs, enrolled 1,202 students this year, an increase of four percent over last year.

Two undergraduate programs saw the largest enrollment increases: the College of Commerce with an increase of more than seven percent, and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences with an increase of more than eight percent.

In addition to its Lincoln Park and Loop campuses in Chicago, DePaul has campuses in Des Plaines, Lake Forest, Naperville, Oak Forest and Rolling Meadows.