The most recent Ole Miss freshman class is the largest in school history with 3,814 students, according to an Ole Miss Public Relations release that went out Wednesday.
The previous freshman class had 3,582 students, making this growth an increase of 6.5 percent from the previous year. Not only is this the largest freshman class in school history, it’s also the highest overall scoring on the ACT and has the highest overall GPA.
This freshman class has an average ACT score of 24.3, up from the average score of 24.1 from last fall. The average GPA of the freshman class is 3.49, up from the previous falls average of 3.46. Both of these numbers have been steadily increasing since 2010.
The freshman class also includes 57 class valedictorians, 52 salutatorians, 73 student body presidents, 83 Eagle Scouts and 10 Girl Scouts who achieved the Gold Award.
Chancellor Dan Jones saw the numbers as a sign of students recognizing the success of The University of Mississippi.
“We are very pleased that students and families across Mississippi and throughout America continue to recognize the quality education and outstanding college experience we offer at The University of Mississippi, all at a very competitive price,” said Jones in the press release. “Our faculty and staff work very hard to deliver the very best academic programs for the students, and it’s truly rewarding to see those efforts being acknowledged with extraordinary interest in attending our university.”
Recent incoming freshman classes have continued to top the previous classes numbers. When asked what he felt was behind the trend in freshman class size growth, Director of Public Relations Danny Blanton found multiple examples.
“One major draw are the exceptional programs offered here,” Blanton said. “In addition to the excellent academic programs many students have professed to being attracted by the beauty of the campus and the congenial atmosphere here.
“They feel at home at Ole Miss.”
When asked if the record number of freshmen on campus has affected the average class sizes or living conditions on campus, Blanton said the university is doing everything it can in order to sustain the numbers.
“One aspect of having sustained 20 years of growth is the need to accommodate that growth,” he said. “That’s why you see $200 million in construction projects around campus, which is also historic.”
Blanton mentioned that as enrollment continues to grow, it is important to continue building new classrooms, buildings and residence halls.
“There is an addition underway to Coulter Hall which will create state-of-the-art research space and an auditorium for the university’s growing population,” he said. “There is an addition to the Pharmacy School which will nearly double the school’s available research space. There are also plans for a new STEM building which will provide much needed classrooms and labs for science, technology, engineering and math. In addition, new residence halls are in the plans and Crosby Hall has been repurposed for female freshman residents.”
Director of Admissions Whitman Smith felt that while there might be such a thing as “too big” of a freshman class, the university has handled the growth it has received well.
“I think there probably is (such a thing as a freshman class that is too large), but we have managed to have controlled, but steady growth, which has allowed us for the most part to manage the class getting bigger,” Smith said.
When asked what reasons contributed to the growth, Smith said there were too many to count.
“I think we offer a high quality education at a reasonable price,” he said. “We have an incredibly talented group of faculty and staff that care about students. We have a beautiful campus, friendly people, people from all over the United States and world, and we live in the greatest college town, if not town, in the country. Everyone here is invested in students and their success, from the Lyceum, to Oxford residents, to the staff. Even our own students care about each other in significant ways.”
Blanton felt that all of the numbers released indicated one thing in particular.
“This indicates that the best and brightest students are choosing Ole Miss for their college choice,” he said
