SUNY Fredonia meets freshmen targets for Fall 2011

SUNY Fredonia has met its freshmen undergraduate enrollment targets for the Class of 2015, and is eager to welcome another high-quality, academically select group of freshmen this Fall. The university currently stands at 1,120 freshman deposits, on pace with the number received last year at this same time, and above its SUNY and internal targets.

Total applications from prospective freshmen, as expected, were down from the record levels set in each of the past two years. This was due to a nationwide demographic downturn in the number of traditional college-aged students, as well as caps placed on total enrollment and Equal Opportunity Program (EOP)-eligible student applications by the SUNY system.

“Overall, we were very pleased with how high the demand for SUNY Fredonia remained this year,” said SUNY Fredonia President Dennis Hefner. “Going in to the recruiting season, we knew that demographic and economic changes had the potential to impact us, and yet we will welcome another strong, academically select class this fall whose average SAT scores and high school grade point averages are very much on par with our recent classes. It’s a testament to the good work of our admissions and financial aid teams, as well as our faculty, and it speaks to the quality which the Fredonia brand continues to represent to high school students and their families, as well as employers.”

President Hefner noted the university is still accepting freshmen deposits, but encouraged students to not delay before making their decisions, as many programs are already filled. In addition, freshmen orientation and registration programs begin in late June, and are only available to students who have paid a deposit.

SUNY Fredonia has also generated numerous transfer student applications, Dr. Hefner noted, with more than 1,300 applications received to date, and nearly half of those who have been accepted already placing deposits. June 1 is the deadline for deposits from transfer students.

Freshman applications from minority students were down as expected due to the SUNY-imposed cap on free applications for EOP students. However, even with this cap, SUNY Fredonia’s minority representation is still 11 percent of the total incoming class, consistent with previous years. In addition, Fredonia will welcome 10 new students from South Korea’s Hankuk University this coming fall as part of a new international partnership between the two institutions.

“We were especially pleased to see minority enrollment, among both freshmen and transfer students, remain strong — particularly in the face of changing demographics and outside influences,” added Fredonia’s Admissions Director Christopher Dearth.

Applications in select undergraduate programs are also still being accepted, though students are encouraged to contact the admissions office immediately to inquire. Graduate applications are accepted through the first week of August.

At roughly 5,700 students, SUNY Fredonia is the third-largest four-year university in Western New York, although the administration prides itself on the fact that few people come away from its campus with a large-school feeling. It is home to a world-renowned School of Music, one of the most respected colleges of Education in the country, a School of Business, and the SUNY Fredonia Technology Incubator. This fall it will break ground on a new, $60 million Science Center. In all, the university offers over 100 degree programs in the liberal arts, natural and social sciences, communication, mathematics, communication disorders, and computer and information sciences. SUNY Fredonia earned the 10th spot among Top Public Universities in the North in the 2011 edition of “America’s Best Colleges,” published by U.S. News & World Report. The university has continually been among this survey’s selective rankings since 1989.

The Admissions Office offers campus tours and information sessions daily to interested students and their families. To learn more, call (800) 252-1212 or visit www.fredonia.edu/admissions.