Fall 2002 Freshman Class Shows Increase in Qualifications
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 13, 2002
Joe Wills
530-898-4143
Fall 2002 Freshman Class Shows Increase in Qualifications
Figures on the fall 2002 freshman class at California State University, Chico show a jump in incoming students’ high school grade point averages.
The average GPA for this fall’s first-time freshman is 3.2, a full tenth higher than last year’s 3.1 average. This increase follows more modest statistical increases in freshman GPA the past several years, said Robert Hannigan, vice provost for enrollment management.
“I’m very pleased to see the academic quality represented in our fall 2002 freshman class,” Hannigan said. “In general, this class takes academic performance more seriously. In the end, that should contribute to an enriched educational experience inside and outside the classroom while here at CSU, Chico.”
Statistics about the fall enrollment are preliminary until a fall 2002 census is completed in a few weeks. The current number of freshmen is 2,037. Hannigan said the freshman enrollment figure is close to what the final number will be.
Because applications have been steadily increasing at CSU, Chico, while enrollment has reached an optimum level, the university used supplemental admissions criteria in 2002 to select the fall freshmen class from among 9,258 applicants. Test scores and GPAs were used to rank students and determine which students would be accepted for admission.
Incoming student SAT I scores increased as well, though less so. The fall 2002 freshman average composite score - combining the verbal and math scores - is 1027, up 17 points from fall 2001.
In demographic data, women outnumber men in the freshman class 56 percent to 44 percent, respectively, reflecting a national trend. The ethnic breakdown of the fall 2002 freshman class is as follows: Caucasian, 68 percent; Hispanic, 12 percent; Asian, 4 percent; African-American, 2 percent; American Indian, 1 percent and Pacific Islander, 1 percent. Two percent of students listed their ethnicity as “other,” and 10 percent declined to specify.
As it has in past years, the Bay Area leads the way in sending students to CSU, Chico. More than 31 percent of freshmen come from the Bay Area, compared to 15 percent from Butte County and 13 percent from the Los Angeles area. The rest of the North State accounts for 12 percent of freshmen, the rest of California 27 percent, and the remaining 2 percent from out of state and out of the United States.
###