Largest-Ever First-Year Class of 4,500 Arrives at UMass Amherst as Campus Welcomes Students on Labor Day Weekend
Aug. 31, 2010
| Contact: | Ed Blaguszewski 413/545-0444 |
AMHERST, Mass. - An academically outstanding group of first-year students and the largest-ever class to enter the University of Massachusetts Amherst will be welcomed to campus this weekend. The Class of 2014, numbering approximately 4,500 students selected from a record 31,000 applicants, will move in Sunday, Sept. 5. On Monday, Sept. 6, Labor Day, the remaining undergraduates will arrive on campus.
"UMass Amherst continues to rank among the best public research universities in the country, and we’re proud to welcome an outstanding group of new students from across the Commonwealth and the country as they join our campus community," said Chancellor Robert C. Holub. "This academically accomplished class reflects the university’s excellence." Fall semester classes begin Tuesday, Sept. 7.
Maintaining its commitment to Massachusetts residents, the university expects total enrollment of in-state students to increase slightly, totaling more than 16,000. Meanwhile, a larger number of out-of-state freshmen, around 350 more, will provide additional revenue, benefiting all students, and enhancing the diversity and perspectives of the entering class.
The overall incoming class size has increased to 4,500, up from last year by about 400 students or nearly 10 percent. Most of the growth comes from an increase in the number of out-of-state students, which has gone from 800 to 1,150, constituting about one-fourth of the entering class. The academic profile of the incoming class is strong, about the same as last year with SAT scores of 1167 and a high school GPA of 3.61.
Applications for this year’s class were up over last year by about 6 percent to 31,000, and applications from out-of-state students were up by about 8 percent. Overall, applications to UMass Amherst have nearly doubled since the fall of 2003.
The demographic characteristics of the entering class are similar to last year. The percentage of ALANA (African, Latino, Asian/Pacific Islander and Native American) students is 21 percent, and women make up slightly more than half of the class.
This was the fifth year that the campus offered an Early Action (EA) admissions program, which allows students to apply for admission and receive notification of their acceptance by mid-December. EA applications grew by 15 percent. About 29 percent of students apply through EA, and 32 percent of the first-year class are EA students.
Overall undergraduate enrollment at the state’s flagship university will increase by about 500 students to about 20,140. More than 12,000 students will move into residence halls over Labor Day weekend, and all students who applied on time for on-campus housing have been accommodated in residence halls.
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