Michigan State expecting largest freshman class on record for second-straight year
EAST LANSING − Michigan State University is expecting a record-size freshman class for a second consecutive year.
MSU expects to welcome more than 9,800 freshmen when the fall semester begins on Wednesday. It marks the largest entering class, breaking the previous record set when 9,200 freshman students enrolled at MSU last fall.
“The excitement of the fall semester is growing, and so too is our momentum in building a more diverse and engaged community that will make a difference in the world,” said MSU President Samuel Stanley Jr. in a press release. “It’s clear students are choosing Michigan State University for a world-class education they know will prepare them for the future. And our commitment to their success, safety and well-being will remain our foremost priority.”
MSU bases these enrollment projections on the number of students admitted to the university who have also paid deposits.
Students enrolled in the incoming class come from across Michigan − including from 82 of the state’s 83 counties − and from different countries and backgrounds.
Included in the incoming class are 794 international students, up from 570 in the fall 2021 class. The incoming class is also more diverse than last year’s class, with the number of students of color included in the class increasing by about 7% or 175 students over last year’s class and among the most diverse in recent history, according to the press release.
The largest increase in diversity comes with students who identify as two or more races, growing from 328 in the fall 2021 class to 515 this fall, an increase of about 57%.
MSU’s Eli Broad College of Business is the most popular among MSU’s colleges in terms of new students with 1,990 first-year students enrolling. The College of Engineering saw 1,784 new students enroll, followed by the College of Social Science with 1,262 students and the College of Natural Science at 1,257 new students.
“We are so proud to welcome so many new Spartans this semester,” said John Ambrose, MSU’s executive director of admissions and recruitment, in a press release. “We are working hard to ensure all students in this class get the attention and resources they need to succeed as Spartans.”
MSU devoted more time to reaching out and connecting one-on-one with prospective students and their families ahead of the fall semester, Ambrose said during an interview Wednesday. Officials also have found different ways to bring those students to campus to show them what MSU has to offer.
More than 7,000 prospective students came to Admitted Students Day at MSU last April where they had opportunities to meet MSU celebrities, like men's basketball coach Tom Izzo, football coach Mel Tucker, Stanley and Sparty. They also had time to meet with the deans of the colleges they were interested in studying and toured the residence halls.
Because so many students looked to enroll, Ambrose said they ran out of space for the fall semester and offered students the opportunity to start in the spring semester instead. As a result, he expects about 600 of those students to start the spring semester in January.
Contact Mark Johnson at 517-377-1026 or at majohnson2@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ByMarkJohnson.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Michigan State expecting the largest freshman class on record.
