North Central College begins academic year with record number of first-year students

North Central College began the 2015-2016 academic year Sept. 14 with a record number of first-year students.

“The Class of 2019 is truly an impressive result in a competitive recruiting marketplace,” says North Central College President Troy Hammond.

The 602 new first-year students are the most ever and the first time the College has eclipsed the 600 mark. Combined with 257 transfer students, the College is welcoming 859 new undergraduates to campus this fall. This follows a graduating class of 836 at the College’s 2015 Commencement in June that included a record number of 736 undergraduates.

The class of first-year students is once again the most diverse in North Central history with non-majority students making up 26 percent of the class. Among first-year students, 78 percent will reside in residence halls, the average ACT score is 24.56, the average high school GPA is 3.58 and 11 percent are from out of state.

The incoming class had the largest applicant pool in North Central history. The College received more than 7,300 first-year student applications and more than 1,000 transfer applications. The acceptance rate was 57 percent for first-year students and 50 percent for transfers. Total undergraduate enrollment of 2,748 is just shy of the College’s record.

North Central’s graduate-school enrollment of candidates pursuing master’s degrees stands at 231, placing total enrollment at 2,979. Enrollment numbers are officially confirmed 10 days after the start of fall term.

After graduating one of the largest international classes in the College’s history in June, North Central this fall welcomed 56 new international students representing 26 countries. Recruitment of international students is gaining strength as the College builds awareness of its 2015 Paul Simon Award for Campus Internationalization. The College’s English Language Institute (ELI), now in its second year, has served 48 students from 16 different countries. ELI enrollment this fall is 14 students from 10 countries, a 33 percent increase in full-time ELI students from a year ago.

North Central College is recognized for excellence by numerous rankings and college guides. U.S. News & World Report rates North Central among America’s Best Colleges, A+ Schools for B Students and Best Colleges for Veterans. The Princeton Review names North Central a Best Midwestern College and Green College. Forbes ranks North Central among the top 20 percent of colleges in the nation, and Colleges of Distinction cites North Central as “one of the best comprehensive liberal arts colleges in the nation.”