![\"FreshmenGraph1\"](\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/FreshmenGraph1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/div>\nAs the new class joins the current undergraduate student body, their academic talent will help UConn continue its strong momentum toward becoming one of the nation\u2019s top-tier research institutions.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy every measure this is the most academically qualified and diverse freshman class in the history of the University, even breaking the impressive records set by last year\u2019s stellar class,\u201d UConn President Susan Herbst says. \u201cThe class of 2017 is also one of the largest freshman classes ever enrolled at UConn, with far more students accepting offers of admission than even our most optimistic forecasts predicted.<\/p>\n
“The size of the class and its high quality are a testament to the excellent education UConn offers and the value we represent to students and their families,” she adds. “Connecticut can take a great deal of pride in knowing that its flagship public university is in such high demand.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/div>\nThe new class of freshmen is among the most diverse that UConn has ever recruited, with 27 percent of its members representing minority groups.<\/p>\n
It also includes 456 students enrolling in the highly selective Honors Program<\/a>. With an average SAT score of 1413, they are the cream of an already illustrious crop, and the largest number of Honors Program students to enroll in UConn in a single year.<\/p>\n While the improvement in recent years is noteworthy, UConn has been on a strong and positive trajectory for almost two decades, dating to around the time the University and state launched the UConn 2000 infrastructure improvement project in 1995.<\/p>\n The average SAT scores of incoming freshmen have jumped from 1028 in 1995 to this year\u2019s average of 1233, and the number of valedictorians and salutatorians in the freshman class has increased from 40 in 1995 to 149 this year.<\/p>\n UConn had everything I was looking at, and more.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n UConn expects to continue and increase its competitiveness in recruiting highly talented freshman classes, providing top-tier education and research opportunities for undergraduates, and helping them launch lasting, fulfilling careers in the areas of their choice.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile there are many factors that influence students and their families\u2019 college choice, we believe the strong response of our prospective students was a result of the many exciting initiatives underway at UConn, including the hiring of new faculty<\/a> and Next Generation Connecticut<\/a>,\u201d says Nathan Fuerst, UConn\u2019s director of undergraduate admissions.<\/p>\n The University is in the midst of a program to add nearly 300 additional tenure-track faculty positions in strategic curriculum areas to strengthen its academic core in programs across the board, including in key humanities and liberal arts areas. The newly launched $1.5 billion Next Generation Connecticut program also will transform UConn\u2019s academics and facilities in critical STEM areas (science, technology, engineering, and math) over the coming decade.<\/p>\n While official enrollment figures will not be available until September, preliminary figures indicate that UConn\u2019s new freshman class draws 32 percent of its students from other states. Many new freshmen and new transfer students are also enrolling at the five regional campuses at Avery Point, Greater Hartford, Stamford, Torrington, and Waterbury.<\/p>\n