Updated Sept. 4, 2013. See Editor’s note below.

The incoming University of Connecticut class of 2016 will be the most academically accomplished freshman class in UConn’s history, with nearly half of the almost 3,200 entering freshmen having graduated in the top 10 percent of their respective high school classes. The new class will also be among the most diverse, will have the highest average SAT score – at 1227 – of any new class ever at UConn, and will have the highest number of honors students.

More than 30,000 students applied to the university for the fall 2012 semester – the highest number in UConn history.

“This year’s freshman class will be noted for the numerous records they have broken,” said Nathan Fuerst, director of undergraduate admissions at UConn. “We were incredibly pleased not only with the increased interest in UConn, but also with the very high quality of our prospective students. The unprecedented number of applications and highly competitive process has yielded what is undoubtedly the most stellar incoming class the University has ever seen.”

Nearly 450 freshmen will enroll in the highly selective Honors Program; and while official enrollment numbers will not be available until September, the class will include approximately 26 percent minority students and will also set a new record with 180 new international students, compared to 140 the year prior.

UConn will enroll 875 new transfers at Storrs, and nearly 1,300 new freshmen and 300 new transfers will enroll at the five regional campuses at Avery Point, Greater Hartford, Stamford, Torrington, and Waterbury. Sixty-nine percent of incoming students are from Connecticut and 31 percent are from out of state.

Editor’s note:  The percentage of students from Connecticut and out-of-state that were reported when this article was published on Aug. 23, 2012, 78 percent and 22 percent respectively, represented the percentages of the overall student body at that time.