Highest-Achieving Freshman Class in SDSU History

The most competitive applicant pool in SDSU history has yielded its highest achieving freshman class.

Thursday, October 8, 2015
The 2015 application pool was more competitive than ever before.
The 2015 application pool was more competitive than ever before.
“It's exciting to see all of the hard work that has gone into the university's strategic plan coming to fruition as we continue to advance student success, diversity and academic quality.”

The numbers are in and the new crop of freshmen at San Diego State University is again the highest-achieving in the history of the university.

Classes began on Aug. 24, but a complete census could not be taken until after the final add/drop deadline. Final numbers show that among the 5,142 first-time freshmen at the San Diego Campus, the average high school GPA remained steady at 3.69 with an average two-part SAT score of 1118, up from 1115 the year before. More than 800 first-time freshmen came in with a 1300 or higher two-part SAT score.

First-time freshmen enrolled with an average of 14.4 Advanced Placement units, a number that has increased every year for the last four years.

The incoming class is also highly diverse, 52.9 percent of first-time freshmen on the SDSU campus are students of color and 54.8 percent are women.

"Each year the academic strength of SDSU's incoming students is more impressive than the year before,” said SDSU Provost and Senior Vice President Chukuka S. Enwemeka. “It's exciting to see all of the hard work that has gone into the university's strategic plan coming to fruition as we continue to advance student success, diversity and academic quality.”

SDSU’s one-year continuation rates also continue to climb with 89.8 percent of full-time freshmen from the 2014/15 academic year returning to campus, up from 88.2 percent for the 2013/2014 academic year.

The application pool was more competitive than ever before, with a record 82,000 undergraduate applications received for the 2015/16 academic year.

Graduate students

This semester, SDSU also welcomes 2,096 new graduate students, including 373 post baccalaureate students, 1,586 master’s students and 137 doctoral students. The class includes three National Science Foundation Fellows, four international Fulbright Fellows, five campus Fulbright Fellows and 20 Presidential Graduate Research Fellows.

For more information on SDSU’s enrollment statistics, visit the university’s Analytic Studies and Institutional Research webpage.

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