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Incoming class breaks enrollment records

Megan Thobe, Staff Writer

(Lauren Olsen | Photo Editor)

The class of 2016 arrived on campus August 16 with great expectations for the upcoming year. However, the statistics for the incoming class had already impressed Miami University Admissions Office employees.

This year, the Miami Office of Admission is expecting roughly 3,725 new students on campus, exceeding their initial goal of 3,600 students, according to Ann Larson, director of admission.

"Every year we go in with a goal and this year it looks like we did really well at going above and beyond that," Larson said. "We won't know how many students are here for sure until we count the exact number on census day but we are really excited about the expected numbers."

Larson said she is excited not only about the number of students who committed to coming to Miami, but also with their quality and diversity.

"The accepted students have slightly stronger test scores and slightly higher GPAs than we've had in the past and we couldn't be more thrilled for the university," Larson said. "We're looking forward to seeing what they do."

Of the 3,725 students in the first-year class, 38.6 percent are from out of state, including 4.1 percent who are international students. According to Larson, all 50 states were represented in the initial applicant pool along with students from Washington, DC, the Virgin Islands and 19 different countries.

The incoming class had 21.6 percent who self-identified as a minority race. Of those, 3.2 percent identify as African American, 3.7 percent identify as Latino and 1.8 percent identify as Asian or Pacific Islander.

Miami's incoming diversity is much higher than the national average.

The most recently released national statistics from 2010 show that 15 percent of enrolling students in 2010 were African American, 14 percent were Hispanic, 6 percent were Asian or Pacific Islander, and under 1 percent identified as "other."

The other category includes those who identify as multi-racial.

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Over half (52 percent) of the class chose majors within the College of Arts and Science, 21 percent within Farmer's School of Business, 11 percent within the School of Health and Society, 11 percent within the School of Engineering and Applied science and 5 percent in the School of Creative Arts.

The Office of Admission experienced a record-breaking number of applicants this year with over 20,000 applications. This number is up from last year by roughly 9.9 percent. National statistics reflect a growing interest in public institutions with 10.5 million students enrolling in public schools nationally in 2000 and 13.7 million in 2010.

The number of students who applied to Miami with the promise of attending if accepted was a little more than 500 last year. This year over 1,000 student made the early decision.

"I expect that those numbers will continue to grow because the students who are here feel that they made a good choice and those who visit and apply here seem to agree," Larson said.

First year Robert Sutliff came to Miami from Mechanicsburg, Penn. and chose Miami on recommendation.

"Some family friends told me about the school and about how much fun they had here," Sutliff said. "I did a little more of my own research and I found out about the great academic program that Miami has. I am really happy to be here."

More than 20 percent of this class had a mother, father or sibling who attended Miami. However, there is no recorded statistic on those who chose Miami on recommendation. Larson said the legacy statistic lends support to the fact that Miami students share their positive experience with friends and family.

Junior Susie Sabaitis did a lot of research before choosing Miami over schools from her home state of Michigan.

"People come here because they know it's a great place to be and that their degree will be worth something after they graduate," Sabaitis said. "It's a top-ranking school to be at and people from all over recognize that."


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