The University of Dayton expects to welcome one of its most selective and geographically diverse classes ever when 1,900 first-year students arrive on campus in August, the school announced Monday.
The university accepted about one of every two applicants for its incoming class, which is smaller than last year’s 2,100. The university admitted fewer students following three years of record enrollment, which led to a high demand for on-campus housing, according to UD. The total number of undergraduates will remain at nearly 8,000, UD said.
The new freshmen were the first to receive financial letters detailing their cost for all four years of college. The students were given a four-year cost guarantee with a promise from UD that their scholarships will grow dollar-for-dollar with any tuition increases during their college career. UD also eliminated fees for all students.
The university also announced that the incoming class is:
- 57 percent from outside Ohio, with the greatest growth coming from Tennessee, Nebraska, Michigan, Kansas, Iowa, Florida and Puerto Rico.
- More international. Top countries with growing enrollments include the United Arab Emirates, Venezuela, Egypt, Indonesia, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. China continues to send more students to the University of Dayton than any other country. Last year, one in 10 students on campus hailed from outside the U.S.
- The best academically prepared. “This year’s class is also expected to equal the highest average test scores in the university’s history, making it one of the best academically prepared classes as measured by college entrance test scores and high school GPAs.”
“We are exceptionally pleased with the quality and the size of the incoming class,” said Sundar Kumarasamy, UD’s vice president of enrollment management and marketing, in a news release. “With increasing competition in Ohio and nationally for a declining number of college-aged students, we are gratified to see the University of Dayton’s continued broad appeal all over the world. It’s a resounding endorsement of the academic quality and value of a Catholic, Marianist education.”