The 2005 freshman class at the University of Colorado at Boulder is shaping up to be smaller than last year but bigger than first projected.
New freshmen are projected to total about 4,900, though the actual number for fall 2005 will not be known until census in mid-September. The final tally of applications this spring came to 17,149, a 12 percent drop from 19,334 in 2004.
Applications from Colorado residents are down 3 percent and non-resident applications are down 18 percent, attributed primarily to non-resident tuition rates, which were $20,592 plus fees in 2004-05.
Many of the state's top high school seniors are choosing CU-Boulder, said Interim Director of Admissions Kevin MacLennan, which is a very positive sign for the campus.
"Twelve Boettcher Scholars and 20 Daniels Scholars have confirmed their intention to enroll at CU-Boulder this fall, which is greater than our numbers for 2004 in both categories," MacLennan said. "We're excited about the level of interest in CU-Boulder among high-achieving students from the state of Colorado."
CU-Boulder has had more Boettcher Scholars in nine of the past 10 years than any other university or college in the state. The scholarships pay recipients the full cost of tuition and fees for four years and are awarded based on academic achievement. The 20 Daniels Scholar freshmen coming this fall also will be the highest number the campus has had, MacLennan said.
While May 1 was the deadline for confirmations to guarantee a spot in the freshman class, the admissions and housing departments will continue to accept deposits from freshmen already admitted. The projected freshmen count of this week -- 4,900 -- surpassed earlier freshmen enrollment projections, which had ranged from 4,200 to 4,700.
Fall 2004 freshman class enrollment was 5,138.
When projected freshmen are added to projections for new transfer students, continuing students and graduate students, overall enrollment for degree-seeking students in fall 2005 is expected to be approximately 28,700.
The entering freshman class is expected to include about 3,050 students from Colorado, or 62 percent, and about 1,850 non-residents, or 38 percent. That compares to the fall 2004 freshman class of 5,138 with 2,983 residents, or 58 percent, and 2,155 non-residents, or 42 percent.
Overall enrollment for fall 2004 was 29,258 degree-seeking students.
For the last two years CU-Boulder has had smaller freshman classes in keeping with Quality for Colorado goals. CU-Boulder's Quality for Colorado plan calls for stabilizing enrollment growth. Decreasing freshman enrollment has been planned to moderate the impact of growth over the last 10 years.