The University of Denver welcomed approximately 1,150 new first-year students the first day of classes Sept. 8, according to Todd Rinehart, admission director and assistant vice chancellor of enrollment. (Official enrollment numbers will be available the third week of the quarter.)
Where they’re from
This year’s freshman cohort is geographically diverse:
• 42 percent are from Colorado
• 21 percent are from the West and Southwest
• 18 percent are from the Midwest
• 10 percent are from the Northeast
• 3 percent are from the Southeast
• 6 percent are international — from 16 countries
Rinehart says it’s the largest international class DU has ever had, bolstered in part by large numbers of Chinese students who have come to the U.S. to study.
“Our marketing and recruitment efforts have been paying dividends,” Rinehart says, noting that the University has sent admission representatives to China for the last several years.
Who they are
Although the numbers could change once official, at this point, about 16 percent are students of color; 56 percent of students are female and 44 percent are male. This year’s incoming freshmen rank high academically, with 97 percent in the top half of their graduating high school class. In addition, by every academic measure — high school GPA, SAT and ACT scores — this is the best class ever to enroll at DU. Finally, this is the second year in a row that DU has enrolled the most Boettcher Scholars in Colorado (13).
What they’re like
Today’s incoming freshmen have never known life without Internet. Beloit College’s mindset list describes the Class of 2012: “Most of them will be about 18 years old, born in 1990 when headlines sounded oddly familiar to those of today: Rising fuel costs were causing airlines to cut staff and flight schedules; Big Three car companies were facing declining sales and profits; and a president named Bush was increasing the number of troops in the Middle East in the hopes of securing peace.”
How DU welcomes them
One of the ways DU welcomes new students is with the Discoveries program held the week before classes. It’s designed to help new undergraduate students make the best possible start to their DU experience. Led by current DU upperclassmen, new students learn about undergraduate requirements, major and minor requirements, academic and campus resources and laptop configuration. They also register for fall quarter classes.
During Pioneer Passage, part of Discoveries, students and their families heard from Chancellor Coombe, Provost Kvistad and psychology Professor Arthur Jones, who delivered the keynote address and led the students in song. Watcha video of Jones’ address.
[Editor’s note: Jordan Ames contributed to this article.]