Washington State University welcomed a large and well-qualified freshman class this fall, according to official tenth-day enrollment figures released by the university this week.
The incoming freshman class on the Pullman campus totals 3,032 students, up from 2,790 last year. Of those, 1,176 (38.8 percent) carry cumulative high school grade point averages of 3.6 or above. By comparison, the fall 2002 incoming class had 1,022 (36.6 percent) high-achieving students. In 2001, 29.9 percent of the entering freshmen had grade point averages of 3.6 or above.
“This is the best-qualified freshman class in the university’s history. We’re very pleased with the progress that is being made in both the quality and quantity of applications we receive,” said Janet Danley, director of enrollment services.
The incoming class includes 1,631 (54 percent) women and 1,401 (46 percent) men; 2,687 (89 percent) of the class are in-state students. The number of ethnic minority students — Asian American, African American, Native American and Hispanic — in the entering class is 415 (14 percent), up from 411 last year.
WSU’s overall enrollment, when measured by student head count on each of its four campuses, increased by 3.6 percent to 22,517, from 21,729 last fall. All four of WSU’s campuses recorded increases in enrollment.
Among graduate students on the Pullman campus, the fall figures show an enrollment of 2,048. That represents a 2.5 percent increase in graduate students over last year, and the highest overall graduate student enrollment in Pullman in eight years.
Howard Grimes, dean of the WSU Graduate School, said that WSU Spokane and WSU Vancouver also each recorded increases of more than 10 percent in graduate students.
“These overall figures reflect the continuing success of research and graduate education at WSU, a research extensive university,” Grimes said.
Overall student enrollment on the Pullman campus showed the smallest gain of the four campuses in percentage terms, a 3.1 percent increase from 18,056 to 18,622. That total includes 9,628 women and 8,994 men. Students of color represent 13.29 percent of total enrollment, compared to 13.1 percent last fall.
At WSU Vancouver, 1,861 students are taking classes this fall, a 6.2 percent increase from fall 2002. The student body includes 1,201 women and 660 men. Students of color represent 5.32 percent of the total, compared to 5.92 percent last fall.
At WSU Tri-Cities, the total enrollment went up from 1,117 to 1,192, a 6.7 percent increase. The student body includes 665 women and 527 men. Students of color represent 8.72 percent of total enrollment, compared with 10.14 percent last fall.
At WSU Spokane, 842 students enrolled for classes this fall, a 4.73 percent increase over last fall’s 804. The student body includes 439 women and 403 men. Ethnic minority students make up 11.64 percent of total enrollment, compared with 10.64 percent last fall.
