Contact: Joe Farris
Mississippi State is enrolling more new freshmen, more new transfer students, and more new graduate students this fall as part of a total unduplicated headcount of 15,934 students.
The university has 1,752 first-time freshmen this fall, up from 1,688 last year. New transfer students total 1,549, up from 1,480 last fall. New graduate and professional students number 855, up from 826.
The growth in newcomers was offset by a smaller number of returning students, attributed largely to last year's record number of graduates. Last year's unduplicated headcount was 16,173.
"We're pleased by the growth in new student numbers," said President Charles Lee. "Although the increase was not enough to overcome the departure of record numbers of graduates over the past two years, it is a predictor of future growth."
The number of international students at MSU is down this fall by 97, to 595. The number of students from other countries has declined each year since 2001, largely as a result of tighter restrictions in the wake of the 9/11 attacks of that year. Also, about 40 MSU students who are members of the National Guard or Reserve were mobilized for active duty this summer.
About 76 percent of this year's students are Mississippi residents, 78 percent are undergraduates, 52 percent are male, and 18.6 percent are African-American. The new freshmen reported an average ACT composite score of 23.3.
MSU is enrolling 33 new freshman National Merit Scholars this fall, up from 24 last year.
Enrollment on the main campus in Starkville totals 15,117, while 760 students are attending classes at the Meridian Campus, up from 715 last year. The remainder are studying at graduate centers in Vicksburg and at Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis.
This fall's freshman-to-sophomore retention rate matched that of the previous year, with 81 percent of fall 2003 freshmen enrolled for the current semester.
The College of Arts and Sciences remains the largest of MSU's eight major academic units, enrolling 25 percent of all students. The College of Business and Industry, including the School of Accountancy, enrolls about 16 percent, and the Bagley College of Engineering accounts for 15 percent.
Fall semester classes started on Aug. 18 and preliminary enrollment figures were calculated on Aug. 31, the 10th day of classes and the last day for students to drop a class without receiving a grade.