Contact: Joe Farris
Mississippi State welcomed more than 3,900 new students this fall as part of a total enrollment of 16,236. The newcomers include just under 1,700 first-time freshmen, almost 1,500 transfer students, and almost 800 new graduate students.
More than 75 percent of this fall's students are Mississippi residents. About 48 percent are women, more than 18 percent are African-American, and 21 percent are graduate students.
The entering freshman class, made up of 1,270 Mississippi residents and 428 from other states and countries, reported an average ACT score of 23.5.
Enrollment on the main campus in Starkville totals 15,426, while 723 students are attending classes at the Meridian Campus. The remainder are studying at graduate centers in Vicksburg and at Stennis Space Center in Bay St. Louis. The statewide headcount is down by 374 from last fall.
Total enrollment is down slightly from last year for a combination of reasons, said Jimmy Abraham, interim vice president for student affairs.
"The biggest difference from last year is in the number of returning students, which is affected by the fact that we've just had two unusually large graduating classes," Abraham said. "We've averaged awarding more than 3,700 degrees for each of the past two years," up by more than 400 from 2000-01.
New restrictions on international students have slowed admissions in that category, and most of the students called to active duty in the military last year for service in the Middle East have not yet returned to school.
"This is also our third consecutive freshman class in the 1,700 to 1,800 range, down from a peak of about 2,000 students in fall 2000, Abraham said. "That may be partly the result of some perception that MSU is interested in only the most academically talented students, but in fact we welcome all qualified students," Abraham said.
"We're proud of our students' academic credentials, but we're trying to make it very clear that the People's University offers great opportunities in leadership development and in academics for students of a wide range of abilities," he said.
"Our research shows that students who have good high school grades tend to do extremely well at the university, regardless of ACT scores, and we are placing great emphasis on mentoring, academic advising, and support programs to help students succeed. Those efforts are proving to be effective, as indicated by our rising retention and graduation rates," Abraham said.
MSU's freshman retention rate increased again this year. More than 81 percent of last year's freshmen have returned for their sophomore year. The retention rate has increased from 76 percent five years ago, and the university received a national retention award this year for programs designed to help students succeed in making the transition to college and stay in school.
"We have another outstanding student body and we've been able to meet their class scheduling needs very well," Abraham said. "We're off to a good start and we're excited about the new academic year."
Fall semester classes started on Aug. 20 and preliminary enrollment figures were calculated on Sept. 3, the last day for students to drop a class without receiving a grade.