SLU Enrolls Historic Freshman Class; Student Success Rates Reach All-Time Highs
Saint Louis University has opened the fall 2016 semester with more students, record-setting student success rates and the most academically gifted freshman class in its nearly 200-year history.
Saint Louis University has opened the fall 2016 semester with more students, record-setting student success rates and the most academically gifted freshman class in its nearly 200-year history.
On Aug. 22, 3,288 new students officially joined the SLU community, increasing total enrollment for degree-seeking students this fall to 12,940, up from 12,880 at this same time last year.
Counting students studying at SLU’s campus in Madrid, Spain, and high school students in the University’s advanced college credit program, total enrollment at SLU this fall is expected to exceed 17,200 students.
Academically Gifted
The Class of 2020 enters SLU with all-time-high freshman ACT/SAT entrance scores that place its members among the upper 10 percent of all students tested in the nation. The mean GPA of the class is 3.9.
These new students’ achievements have been rewarded by the University in significant ways. Of the more than 1,550 new freshmen, more than 900 earned SLU’s top merit scholarships, and nearly 300 were selected for the University’s honors and scholars programs.
“It is exciting to see how so many of the nation’s brightest and most dedicated students are making Saint Louis University their university,” said Jean Gilman Cox, SLU’s dean of admission.
Future Plans
In admitted student surveys, new students indicated that they have been thinking about how to make the most out of their educational experience.
More 95 percent plan to engage in volunteer/community activities, while more than 70 percent intend to study abroad at SLU’s Madrid campus or one of the University’s other 45 approved study abroad sites.
Nearly all of these forward-thinking freshmen are already looking beyond their undergraduate education at SLU, with 85 percent reporting that they want to attend graduate, law or medical school.
“This class has had a great start,” Gilman Cox said. “Hearing their plans for living the Jesuit spirit by developing their talents and making a difference in our community is very inspiring.”
Click above to view a slideshow of Fall Welcome 2016.
Rising Student Success
In addition to enrolling a record-setting freshman class this year, SLU’s student retention and graduation rates have climbed to historic highs. SLU’s first-to-second-year retention rate is 91 percent vs. the national private college average of 75.1 percent.
The University’s most recent six-year graduation rate is 77 percent; the national private college average is 65.7 percent. Overall, these rates have steadily increased by more than 6 percent since 2010.
“Our 2012 strategic enrollment plan highlighted the University’s dedication to increase scholarly quality, diversity, access and affordability,” said Jay Goff, SLU’s vice president of enrollment management.
“To achieve so many of these important objectives ahead of our 2018 bicentennial goal is a testament to the SLU community’s desire for making student success our top priority,” Goff added.
Fall 2016 Enrollment Highlights
- Nearly 70 percent of this year’s freshmen are out-of-state or international students. (Overall, SLU has enrolled students from nearly all 50 U.S. states and more than 75 foreign countries.)
- More than 20 percent of this year’s freshmen are receiving need-based grants. (SLU was recently listed in the annual U.S. News & World Report “Best Colleges” rankings for economic diversity.)
- Enrollment among traditionally underrepresented minority students grew by 3 percent, with the largest increase coming among African-American students.
- SLU enrolled 430 new students who will be the first in their family to complete a bachelor’s degree.
- More than a quarter of this year’s freshmen are “legacies,” meaning they are children, grandchildren or siblings of SLU alumni.
- Nearly half of the members of the freshman class attended Catholic or Jesuit high schools.
Enrollment officials at the University note that SLU’s enrollment figures could change as fall totals are finalized for the official census that follows the fourth week of classes.