Size and Academic Strength of Freshman Class Set Records Again

DePaul University has released its fall 2005 enrollment figures, and the numbers show that undergraduate enrollment at the university is at a record level, while the new freshman class is one of the strongest academically in school history.

This fall’s freshman class rose to 2,400 students, an increase of 83 students over 2004. This led to an overall increase in undergraduate enrollment, which climbed to an all-time high of 14,740.

Academically, the freshman class demonstrates a composite mean score of just over 24 on the ACT and approximately 1,140 on the SAT, as well as a mean high school GPA of 3.3. In addition, the number of students who scored in the highest five percent of college admission exams nationally (an ACT score of 28 or higher) increased by 25 percent over last year.

Continuing the university’s longstanding commitment to a diverse student body, minority students make up nearly 30 percent of the freshman population. Nearly 13 percent of the class is Hispanic/Latino, eight percent is Asian/Pacific Islander and more than seven percent is African American. Out-of-state students comprise 30 percent of this year’s class, a significant increase over last year. The class is 59 percent female, and nearly 21 percent of DePaul’s freshmen hail from the City of Chicago. In keeping with DePaul’s mission to expand access to education, 30 percent of the class are first-generation college students.

"Any university’s freshman class is an indicator of institutional market position," said David Kalsbeek, vice president for enrollment management at DePaul. "DePaul’s 2005 freshman class – in its size, quality and diversity – is evidence of DePaul’s continuing success in improving its overall competitive posture."

Total enrollment at the university this fall is 23,148, a decrease of slightly less than two percent from last fall, prompted by a decline in graduate enrollment of 422 students. Although new student enrollment in graduate programs at DePaul is up by four percent over last year, continuing economic factors have resulted in a decline in enrollment among returning graduate students. Total graduate enrollment at the university stands at 7,229 this fall, a decline of more than five percent over 2004. Overall, minority students make up nearly 28 percent of the total student population at DePaul.

Still, several graduate programs experienced enrollment gains in new students compared to 2004, including the nationally ranked Kellstadt Graduate School of Business (19 percent increase), the School of Computer Science, Telecommunications and Information Systems (11 percent), Liberal Arts & Sciences (five percent) and the School for New Learning, which experienced a 64 percent increase in new student enrollment and a 16 percent increase in overall enrollment.

The most popular graduate majors at DePaul this fall are computer science, elementary education, information systems, finance and public service. The most popular undergraduate majors are communications, psychology, accounting, political science and finance.

Although applications at DePaul’s College of Law increased by four percent to a record level of 5,028, the college capped its new student enrollment at 243 students to maintain the quality of student-professor interactions, resulting in a slight decline in students enrolled than in 2004. Total enrollment at the College of Law this fall was 1,179.

DePaul will rank as the nation’s largest Catholic university for the eighth consecutive year and will remain among the 10 largest private universities in the United States, as well.

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