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Media Relations

Herald-Times articles

Sept. 15, 2006

IU's first-year class is its biggest ever: Record crop of 7,259 strains resources
by Steve Hinnefeld
September 15, 2006

This year's class of first-year students at Indiana University Bloomington is both big and talented, IU officials said Thursday.

With 7,259 students, it is the campus's largest crop of beginners ever, surpassing a previous record set in 2002.

And its average SAT score is 1,121, the highest in any recent year and a 10-point increase over 2005-06.

"It's exciting," said Roger Thompson, vice provost for enrollment management. "It's not often you see record classes with the quality going up."

He said the increase in admissions-test scores was remarkable at a time when the national average SAT score fell by seven points and the Indiana average dropped by five points.

Thompson, who came to IU from the University of Alabama in July, credited the success to work by people who were already at IU.

"People overwhelmingly elected to come to IU," he said. "I think it shows the strength of the academic programs."

The class includes:

• 123 students who were high school valedictorians, up from 87 two years ago.
• 63 National Merit Scholars, up from 48 two years ago.

Some 60.5 percent of first-year students were from Indiana and 39.5 percent from out of state. In the previous five years, about 65 percent of first-year students were from Indiana.

The class includes 345 black students, third-highest in recent years but down from last year's record of 412. Average SAT scores for black first-year students increased by 27 points.

It includes 166 Hispanic students, up from 146.

Purdue University also had a record first-year class this year. Average SAT scores for Purdue beginners fell by eight points to 1,142, still higher than IU's. Purdue has 205 valedictorians and 85 National Merit Scholars.

At IU, interim Provost Michael McRobbbie said in a statement that students responded to improved scholarships, strong academics and a campus culture "lauded for warmly embracing and nurturing undergraduate students."

Thompson said applications were up, and of those who were admitted, a larger-than-expected number opted to attend IU.

In the future, he said, it's likely that fewer students will get in. He said such a large freshman class puts a strain on university resources, requiring it to add introductory courses, find instructors and line up space. About 70 students were temporarily placed in dorm lounges this fall because there weren't enough rooms to go around.

"This is probably the largest freshman class we'll ever have at IU," Thompson said. "We're very serious about reducing the size of the freshman class in some areas."

And it will be tougher to get admitted to IU Bloomington, he said, because the campus is raising admissions standards and trying to lift its academic profile.

"Our goal is to be the institution of choice for the best and brightest in this state, the region and the country," Thompson said.

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