New Freshman, Transfer and Graduate Enrollments Post Gains

DePaul University’s continued growth was reflected in its fall 2006 enrollment figures, as demand to attend the nation’s largest Catholic university grew among graduate students, transfer students and incoming freshmen.

This fall’s freshman class rose to 2,537 students, an increase of 137 students over 2005, due in part to expanded residential capacity. In turn, total undergraduate enrollment climbed to an all-time high of 14,893. Prospective freshmen made a record 10,415 applications to DePaul this year.

Academically, the freshman class demonstrates a composite mean score of slightly more than 24 on the ACT and approximately 1,140 on the SAT, as well as a mean high school GPA of 3.3. Additionally, 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 approximately 10 percent over 2005 to a school-record level.

“DePaul’s commitment to academic excellence in a diverse, urban setting continues to attract strong demand from prospective freshmen, undergraduate transfers and graduate students alike,” said David Kalsbeek, vice president of enrollment management at DePaul.

Fresh off a No. 1 national ranking from the Princeton Review for student diversity, DePaul again enrolled a diverse freshman class, with minority students making up more than 28 percent of the class. Hispanic and Latino students make up 13.5 percent of the freshman students, an 11 percent increase over last year. Asian and Pacific Islander students make up slightly more than 8 percent of the class, and African American students comprise nearly 6.5 percent of the freshman class.

Approximately 65 percent of the class is from Chicago or its suburbs, and nearly 71 percent of freshman hail from the state of Illinois. First-generation college students make up nearly 30 percent of the class, and slightly more than 56 percent of the class is female.

Total enrollment at the university this fall is 23,149, virtually identical to 2005 despite the fact that a larger than average number of students graduated from DePaul in 2006. This is attributable to the increase in undergraduate students and in new student enrollment in graduate programs, up by six percent over last year. The latter includes a 20 percent increase in new student enrollment at the Kellstadt Graduate School of Business, which offers a nationally ranked part time MBA program. Graduate enrollment at the School of Computer Science, Telecommunications and Information Systems remained stable, keeping it as DePaul’s largest graduate program. Total graduate enrollment at the university stands at 7,161 this fall, about one percent fewer students since last fall.

While the total enrollment picture is solid, it is the six percent increase in new student enrollment at nearly all levels that is most pronounced. DePaul welcomed 6,113 new students in the form of freshmen, undergraduate transfers and graduate students this fall. Increasing transfer and new graduate enrollment is one of the key goals of the university’s new strategic plan, VISION twenty12.

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

DePaul’s College of Law again received strong demand in the form of 4,941 applications, but saw the second year of capped new student enrollment to maintain the quality of student-professor interactions. LSAT scores were up among incoming students this year. Total enrollment at the College of Law this fall was 1,095.

DePaul will likely rank as the nation’s largest Catholic university for the ninth consecutive year and is expected to 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.