Freshman class sizes up to past classes

Last week as students moved into their dorms for the school year, 2,250 freshmen joined the University at Albany community.

With a high school grade average of 91, almost one quarter of the class of 2014 was ranked in the top 10% of their high school class, an increase from last year's. Unchanged from last year, the University's acceptance rate was 47%.

"If you want to make a difference, this is the place to be... in the state capitol," said Marta Szulc, a freshman from Brooklyn. "It's big, there are lots of people and lots of things to do."

"The number of applicants decreased very slightly, falling from a record 22,286 in 2009 to 21,967 this year.

Despite UAlbany's ranking of #8 on the Princeton Review's "Least Happy Students" list, the incoming freshmen seem generally happy so far.

"I strongly feel it was the right choice," said freshman Kevin Smith. "I like that it's such a big school, and there's lots of people. I love that everybody longboards," said freshman Kevin Smith, standing in Indian Quad, watching several of his peers skateboarding.

"It's awesome here. There are good parties, and it's really easy to meet new people," said freshman Calum Murray.

The most ethnically diverse class to enroll at the University, 35.9% of this year's freshmen class are minorities. This is an increase from last year's, which was 30%.

Down from last year's 140 students, the Honors College enrolled 117 incoming freshmen. Just over 200 students received Presidential Scholarships while 14 students were enrolled as Frederick Douglass Scholars.

The incoming class is split almost evenly between the sexes, with women slightly outnumbering men. 49.3% of the class is male while 50.7% is female. Out-of-state students make up 5.4% of this year's freshmen class.

Also joining the UAlbany community will be over 1,350 transfer students. With 13,000 undergraduate students and 4,900 graduate students, the total number of students enrolled at UAlbany this year is 17,900.