The last SLU 101 of the summer came to an end on Tuesday, July 15, and freshmen have returned home to await the start of classes in August. A clearer picture is now beginning to emerge of Saint Louis Univeristy’s class of 2012. While only about as large as the class of 2011-and smaller than administrators had hoped-it is also more diverse and academically successful than previous classes, and it will boast an increased number of international students.
The University has yet to release hard statistics of the class of 2012, as there is still some uncertainty about the final number of students who will enroll, although administrators are now able to comment on the general makeup of the class. Final numbers should be available early in the fall, by the time of the University’s official census on Sept. 18.
“I feel it is a very diverse class,” said Boyd Bradshaw, Ed.D., vice provost of enrollment management. “We have increase diversity across the board-in terms of ethnicity, geography.”
According to Brett Magill, director of institutional research and data integrity, the University expects “that the number of new freshmen entering SLU in the fall will be similar to the number of freshmen entering SLU last year,” which was 1,604.
Bradshaw said that the University’s goal to bring in a larger freshman class was not achieved.
SLU attracted fewer new freshmen from the United States this year than last. Bradshaw said that the poor state of the U.S. economy might be to blame for the drop and suggested that many students who might have gone to SLU opted for lower-cost, public institutions instead.
Despite a decline in the number of domestic students, the class of 2012 will remain about as large as the class of 2011, thanks to an influx of freshman from abroad. The number of international students in the entering class has more than doubled from last year.
Bradshaw credits the growing number of international students to the declining U.S. economy, which makes the country financially appealing for foreigners, as well as SLU’s “very strong” English as a Second Language program.
In addition, approximately 80 percent of the incoming international students are Chinese. Bradshaw said that SLU has built strong relationships in China and has been “more strategic in connecting with students” there. For instance, the University has worked closely with agents to recruit in the China.
Among SLU’s American students, more are coming from beyond Missouri’s borders. The geographic origins of the members of the class of 2012 are more varied than those of previous years. Bradshaw said that the University had made a special effort to market itself around the country, particularly in regions with growing numbers of high school graduates, such as Texas.
“We’re doing a much better job making students [beyond the St. Louis region] aware of SLU,” Bradshaw said.
The class of 2012 also has “slightly” better average ACT scores and high school GPAs than the previous year. (The class of 2011’s mean ACT score is 26.4 and its mean high school GPA, was 3.67.) SLU also brought in more students graduating from Catholic and Jesuit high schools.
Citing the United States’ floundering economy, Bradshaw said that the class of 2012 is also “needier” of financial aid than past years. He said that the gap between what SLU’s ticket price and what many students are able to pay has grown wider. The University was “aggressive” in giving out scholarships and financial aid, according to Bradshaw, and was able to enroll more students with financial need than in the past.
As in past years, pre-medicine and biology are among the most popular areas of study among members of the incoming freshman class. In addition, the number of students entering as “undecided” has increased.
“[New] students are a little more savvy about choosing a major,” Bradshaw said. “They are more aware of SLU’s multiple opportunities, and they know that they have time to decide a major.”
