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Sept. 3, 2002--The hustle and bustle of the fall semester began Sunday, Sept. 1, when 3,400 freshmen and 596 transfer students arrived on the Newark campus. In addition, 318 new students have enrolled in UD’s Parallel Programs in Wilmington, Dover and Georgetown.
The Class of 2006 was officially welcomed to UD at New Student Convocation on Tuesday, Sept. 3.
“This year we had the largest number of students ever applying to UD—more than 20,000--an increase of 12 percent over last year,” Fred Siegel, associate provost for enrollment services, said. “This is an indication of our ability to attract the brightest and the best. With a stronger applicant pool, we can be more selective, and this year’s freshman class is excellent.
“For example, students with SAT scores of more than 1400 have increased by 34 percent in this year’s class, and the average SAT score is 1179, compared to 1160 last year. There are 44 valedictorians in the class, 35 salutatorians and 263 students with a 4.00 grade point average, the average GPA being 3.51. The Honors Program continues to attract outstanding students, and this year 546 new students are enrolled, compared to 471 last year,” he said.
Most of the freshman come from Delaware (1,132), followed by New Jersey (690), Pennsylvania (569), New York (471) and Maryland (255), with 11 foreign countries represented.
This year’s class contains 440 legacies, the sons and daughters of UD alumni, with 143 of them the children of Double Dels, or couples where both parents are UD grads.
The average age of the new students is 18, with the oldest student being 60, and the youngest 16. The most common birthdays are Sept. 21 and Nov. 30, each shared by 18 students.
There are 16 sets of twins, with only one set a brother and sister.
There are 62 Jennifers in the class, making it the most popular women’s name, and 61 Laurens, which was last year’s most popular name. There are 79 Michaels and 77 Matthews, which have traditionally been the most popular men’s names for many years.
The majority of freshmen, 1,938, are enrolled in the College of Arts and Science, with 377 enrolled in the College of Human Services, Education and Public Policy, 416 enrolled in the College of Business and Economics, 332 in the College of Engineering, 249 in the College of Health and Nursing Sciences and 126 in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Of the freshman class, 670 have not declared a major. Of those who have declared a major, the top selections are business administration (350), biological sciences (221), elementary teacher education (159), psychology (145), communication (109), nursing (105), English (91), mechanical engineering (97) and chemical engineering (94).
Statistics about incoming students are subject to slight changes as the academic year gets under way. Official enrollment figures will be available in October.
--Sue Moncure
Photo by Eric Crossan
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