Eighty-four percent of the class of the 2021 are in the top fourth of their high school graduating class; 54 percent are in the top 10 percent of their class, a new high for UConn’s admitted students. (Amar Batra/The Daily Campus)
The University of Connecticut’s incoming freshman class is one of the highest achieving it has ever admitted, with record-breaking numbers of valedictorians and honors students, according to UConn Office of Admissions.
(Marlese Lessing/The Daily Campus)
Eighty-four percent of the class of the 2021 are in the top fourth of their high school graduating class; 54 percent are in the top 10 percent of their class, according to UConn spokesperson Stephanie Reitz, a new high for UConn’s admitted students. One hundred and sixty one valedictorians will be attending the Storrs campus, with an honors class of 549, according to Admissions.
“This year’s incoming class is one of the most diverse and accomplished in UConn’s history, including a record number of valedictorians and salutatorians,” UConn spokesperson Tom Breen said. “We’re also happy to note that the class, which includes students from around the country and the world, is strongly rooted in our state, with 162 of Connecticut’s 169 towns represented.”
Overall, 5,230 new freshman have been admitted to UConn, with 3,650 attending the Storrs campus, down from last year’s class of 3,800, according to UConn Today. The mean SAT score for the incoming class is 1294, up from last year’s score of 1233. UConn received about 36,900 applications, which is 1,000 more than they received last year, making it a record high.
The class is smaller than previous years due to a decrease in university funding from the state of Connecticut. The reduced number of admitted students has also resulted in fewer housing applications for the 2017-2018 academic year.
One third of the entering class will be attending UConn’s regional campuses, according to a UConn Today article, including Avery Point, Waterbury, Stamford and the newly-opened Hartford campus.
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“This year’s incoming class is one of the most diverse and accomplished in UConn’s history, including a record number of valedictorians and salutatorians”
This number is also on the rise, especially at UConn’s Stamford campus, which recently added housing for enrolled students.
“This semester also features two terrific UConn firsts: new and returning students in Hartford are the very first to attend classes at our new downtown Hartford campus, and many Stamford students are the first to move into our new student residence hall in Stamford,” said UConn president Susan Herbst in the article. “Both are generating incredible pride and enthusiasm.”
Marlese Lessing is the news editor for The Daily Campus. She can be reached via email at marlese.lessing@uconn.edu. She tweets @marlese_lessing.
