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Kent State University freshman students hold up “Class of ’17” shirts they received during a Welcome Weekend event. For the Fall 2013 Semester, Kent State has set a new record, attracting the biggest and highest-achieving freshman class at the Kent Campus in the university’s 103-year history.
Kent State University freshman students hold up “Class of ’17” shirts they received during a Welcome Weekend event. For the Fall 2013 Semester, Kent State has set a new record, attracting the biggest and highest-achieving freshman class at the Kent Campus in the university’s 103-year history.
Kent State Golden Flashes fans celebrate a victory at the first home football game against Liberty University.
Kent State Golden Flashes fans celebrate a victory at the first home football game against Liberty University.
Students listen to a band during the Black Squirrel Fest held on the Student Green.
Students listen to a band during the Black Squirrel Fest held on the Student Green.
  • Kent State University freshman students hold up “Class of ’17” shirts they received during a Welcome Weekend event. For the Fall 2013 Semester, Kent State has set a new record, attracting the biggest and highest-achieving freshman class at the Kent Campus in the university’s 103-year history.
  • Kent State Golden Flashes fans celebrate a victory at the first home football game against Liberty University.
  • Students listen to a band during the Black Squirrel Fest held on the Student Green.

Kent Campus Welcomes Largest, Highest-Achieving Freshman Class

Emily Vincent | 09/17/2013
New Kent Campus freshmen boast an average GPA of 3.3; Kent Campus also reaches new all-time high in total enrollment and applications

For the Fall 2013 Semester, Kent State University has set a new record, attracting the biggest and highest-achieving freshman class at the Kent Campus in the university’s 103-year history. With the release of the university’s official 15th day census data for the Fall 2013 Semester, Kent State reports the total number of first-time, full-time freshmen enrolled at the Kent Campus is 4,314. This exceeds last year’s freshman class count of 4,076 by 5.8 percent. It also surpasses the record set in 2011 of 4,284.

“We are welcoming our largest and most academically motivated freshman class,” said Kent State President Lester A. Lefton. “The average GPA of our new freshmen is 3.3, which is terrific. More than 75 percent of our incoming freshmen have GPAs of 3.0 or higher. This is exactly what the state has asked us to do. We are enrolling more students who are academically prepared, and then we are retaining and supporting them on their journey to graduation. Kent State is doing its part to help Ohio produce more quality graduates and serve as an economic engine for the region and the state.”   

Kent State also announced total enrollment at the Kent Campus is a new record. Unduplicated (or preponderant) headcount at the campus in Kent for fall 2013 is 28,019, which represents an increase of 313, or 1.1 percent, compared to last year’s record. Total enrollment for the Fall 2013 Semester across the university’s eight campuses is 41,891 students. The unduplicated headcount for the Regional Campuses is 13,872. Students are counted only once at the campus at which they hold a majority of their course load.

With the university focusing on retention and graduation, retention of Kent Campus freshmen has increased to 77.6 percent, up from 77.1 last year. This represents the percentage of freshmen who continue their studies at the university for their sophomore year. Retention at the Regional Campuses experienced a significant increase to 56.1 percent, up from 52.5 percent last year.

Highlights from the fall 2013 enrollment numbers also include:

  • Enrollment of international students is up 10.37 percent with 2,447 total international students. The university also is seeing more diversity in countries represented by Kent State’s international students, including Brazil and Oman.
  • Enrollment at Kent State University at Geauga is up 6.3 percent. Kent State Geauga reported 1,646 students for fall 2013 compared to 1,548 in the previous year.
  • The average high school GPA score for the university’s new AALANA (African American, Latino American and Native American) freshman students is 3.18, up 2.0 percent from 3.12.
  • The number of new AALANA freshmen also increased 1.6 percent to 668 students.
  • Enrollment in Kent State’s College of Business Administration has increased to 3,271 students, showing an impressive 4.2 percent growth compared to last year.
  • Kent State’s School of Digital Sciences and the College of Public Health also continue to grow.  Enrollment in the School of Digital Sciences is up 94 percent while the College of Public Health is up 22 percent.


Kent State also set a new all-time high in applications. The total number of applications received by the Kent Campus for fall 2013 was 21,711. This represents an increase of 7,197 applications, or 49.6 percent, in a five-year span compared to 14,514 freshman applications for fall 2009. This also tops the number of applications received fall 2012, which was 21,040.

T. David Garcia, Kent State’s associate vice president for enrollment management, said increasing the number of applications is necessary as the university builds the freshman class with more high-achieving students.

“Over the last few years, we have been working hard to attract the best and the brightest to our great institution,” Garcia said. “In order to build the academic profile of our freshman class, we need to build our application pool. This allows us to be more selective, accepting those who are academically prepared for the rigorous academic experience here at Kent State. It will pay back in dividends with retention and graduation rates.”

Kent State’s eight campuses are located in Ashtabula, East Liverpool, Geauga, Kent, Salem, Stark, Trumbull and Tuscarawas. For more information about Kent State, visit www.kent.edu.