This year, the university saw a significantly higher enrollment number, as well as higher grades and entrance exam scores than previous years, Ball State officials said.
Tom Taylor, vice president for enrollment, marketing and communications, said enrollment for this year's freshman class is up significantly. The class of 2015 outnumbers last year's freshman class by 242 students, bringing the total of freshman to 3,822. Taylor said this is something the university is feeling very good about.
Director of Housing and Residence Life Alan Hargrave said in an email that housing hasn't really been an issue this semester and he doesn't expect it to become one.
"Studebaker East will be finished with its renovation and bring 450 more beds online for next fall, so we have adequate capacity to house students on campus," he said.
This year's freshman class carries strong SAT scores, as well as an average high school GPA of 3.3, Taylor said, which makes them the most different from other classes.
"I wouldn't say they're dramatically different, but as years have passed, we have gotten more academically focused students," Taylor said. "And students that are also more academically prepared."
This year's freshman class is also a class that is diverse. This year, 13.3 percent of freshman are from a state other than Indiana, a percentage that is up from last year's 12.8 percent. Regarding international students, Taylor said that about 13.8 percent of freshmen are attending the university from underrepresented populations across the world.
Even with a significant amount of ethnic diversity in this year's freshman, Taylor said it's more than that, and cites geographic and academic diversity as strong building blocks of this class.
"We believe that all of this is important to a student body," Taylor said. "I don't think that this is a revolutionary different class, rather, they are evolutionary."
Taylor said the university takes a holistic approach to acceptance, and what they are really looking for are higher GPA's and higher academic performance. Many of the decisions are made from the applicants' high school curriculum, and emphasis is placed on the Academic Honors Diploma, at least for Indiana residents.
Taylor said another important aspect of this year's freshman class is that next year wraps up the university's current strategic plan, which has been mainly focused on immersive learning.
He said the university strongly believes that immersive learning is a learning style that takes a very special kind of student.
"We are really looking for students who love to learn, but also love to be conspirators," Taylor said. "Not passive learners. Active learners."
One aspect that Taylor said he really believes draws in students is the quality of the university's academic programs. He said the university likes to watch their students fall in love with Ball State, and that this happens once prospective students start to get a feel for the institution.
"That's when you really see the lights go on, and a student thinking, ‘Yep. Ball State is where I want to be.'"
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