The 2014 class is full of smart Buckeyes.
Mabel Freeman, assistant vice president for undergraduate admissions and first year experience, said the class of 2014 is the brightest and most talented class to enter Ohio State.
Of the 26,635 students who applied, 15,000 were accepted and 6,600 will make up the class of 2014.
“When we’re going through the admission process, our very first goal is to look for students for whom Ohio State is going to be a good fit,” she said. “We’ve always valued high school performance more than anything else.”
Becca Novotny, a first-year in health sciences, said grades and involvement were her ticket into the university.
Novotny had a 4.1 grade point average in high school and was involved in activities such as National Honor Society and varsity cheerleading.
Freeman estimated that 53 to 54 percent of this year’s freshmen were in the top 10 percent of their graduating classes. Additionally, 89 percent were in the top quartile.
The average ACT score of this year’s incoming freshman was a 27.7, compared with 27.5 in 2009. The average SAT composite score increased to 1235 from 1230.
Caitlin Parcell, a third-year in English, said she believes OSU looked more at her high school extracurriculars and volunteer hours than her academics when she applied two years ago.
“I have heard that (OSU) is getting harder and harder to get into,” Parcell said.
Novotny, who scored a 29 on her ACT, said she didn’t realize how hard it was to get accepted until she began hearing of others who weren’t.
“I expect it to be kind of competitive,” Novotny said of her class. “But I’m used to that. In high school I took some of the harder classes.”
Freeman said geographic and international diversity were important when selecting members of the class.
This year’s freshmen represent more than 40 countries.
Of the 6,600-member class, Freeman estimated that 400 to 450 were international students, with 70 percent of the international students coming from China.
“Pretty much all American universities are seeing really large increases in students from China,” Freeman said.
This year’s class also has more African-American, Hispanic and Native American students than last year’s class.
The number of students from Ohio stayed relatively the same, but the regional campuses grew in size.
“At most universities, women are enrolling at a much higher rate than men. Some universities are even looking at 60/40 splits. But this year’s freshman class at OSU is 50/50,” Freeman said.
“Candidly, one reason … we’re as even as we are is that the College of Engineering, which is a very large population of our incoming students, is still significantly males,” Freeman said.
The increases in class size and diversity are just a small taste of OSU’s recently unveiled enrollment plan.
The plan calls for an increase in the quality, quantity, diversity and overall profile of the student body by 2015.
The targeted increase in enrollment is at least 2,700, which would increase the student population to 66,000 compared to the current 63,000.
Freeman said this translates into an increase of 100 freshmen each year for the next five years.
“We’re excited to welcome all of them and believe that Ohio State University is in a position to serve them well, and hope that students will take advantage of the opportunities on our campus,” Freeman said.
Parcell said she thought the increase in freshmen would increase the competitive atmosphere and result in “pretty cool things for the university.”
“If they’re making it harder to get in, but at the same time letting more freshman in,” she said, “it seems like it’s definitely going to increase the number of really bright students coming to Ohio State.”
