On Monday, Aug. 26, Florida State University’s class of 2023 made university history when it was named the largest freshman class in school history.
The university expected over 6,520 freshmen to be enrolled this academic year.
More than 35,000 students applied, 17,000 were accepted, and well over 6,500 enrolled. Out of the 6,523 students 3,898 were female and 2,625 were male, according to the university’s website.
FSU has a 49 percent acceptance rate, and this year’s qualifications were higher than normal.
More than 77 percent of the freshmen were in the top 25 percent of their high school class.
Some of the qualifications included an average GPA of 3.88, ACT 26-30, and SAT 1260-1390.
“I got accepted to FAMU, UCF, and USF, but FSU was the challenge for me,” said freshman business management major Karrington Hickman. “FSU was the first college I was introduced to and the diversity aspect of the school sparked my interest the most.”
FSU has many programs to help aid first year students like the CARE Summer Bridge program and the required experiential learning.
The CARE program is a helpful way to get a handful of these students enrolled for fall and acclimated to college living.
“The CARE Summer Bridge program provides a comprehensive program of orientation and academic support designed to ease the transition from high school to college while building a strong academic foundation. Applicants selected to participate in CARE will be first-generation college students from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds who have demonstrated a strong desire to succeed,” according to the university’s website.
Summer 2019 CARE qualifications are lower than regular admit qualifications, GPA: 3.5-4.2, ACT: 20-25, and SAT: 1060-1190.
“I was extremely nervous on decision day,” said freshman Ka’Tia Maycock a political science major at FSU. “I got accepted through early admissions and a week before summer C started, I received a call asking if I wanted to be a part of the CARE program, I accepted their offer and it made my transition so much easier.”
Experiential learning is required for the new freshman class and is a hands-on way to build their skills and knowledge through internships, international study, undergraduate research, and much more.
FSU’s class of 2023 also was welcomed to the campus on Sunday, Aug. 25 at the New Student Convocation, held in Tucker Civic Center.
Fall 2018 saw 38,414 freshman apply, 13,557 were admitted, and 3,735 enrolled. That’s an increase of about 2,800 students for the fall 2019 semester.
Early admissions application deadline for fall 2020 will be Nov. 1, 2019.