Getting to Know You

One student sang at President Barack Obama’s inauguration. Another taught English at a boys’ school in Myanmar. Yet another recently completed an internship on the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric. And then there’s the student who placed first in an international ballroom competition.

Meet the Class of 2014.

“We really think about not just admitting students, but building this class,” says Kelly Walter, executive director of admissions. “We want students with a wide variety of talents, interests, and skills.”

And that’s what BU got. This year’s freshman class of 4,380 students is one of the most highly qualified academically, and the most diverse to enter the University.

The class was selected from a record number of applicants: 38,273. This year’s freshmen have an average GPA of 3.52, with nearly 57 percent graduating in the top 10 percent of their high school class. Compare that to 20 years ago, when entering freshmen posted an average GPA of 3.09, with 34 percent graduating in the top 10 percent of their class.

Response to the newly launched University Honors College—a four-year, campus-wide undergraduate program that replaced the University Professors Program—exceeded expectations, with 75 entering freshmen, according to Laurie Pohl, vice president for enrollment and student affairs. These students will study in cross-disciplinary classes and intensive seminars and tackle a senior research project during their undergraduate studies.

Freshmen entering this year hail from 48 states (only North Dakota and South Dakota are not represented). The state with the highest number of students is, not surprisingly, Massachusetts, with New York, California, New Jersey, and Connecticut following close behind.

Yet students increasingly come from longer distances. “We’ve got students who are far more willing to travel outside their geographic area,” Walter says. She attributes the shift to BU’s growing academic reputation, newer and improved facilities (Student Village and the Photonics Center among them), and her office’s aggressive recruitment across the country.

The number of international students in the Class of 2014 (503) is nearly double the number that entered in the Class of 1994. This year’s international students represent 64 countries—with the largest number from China, followed by South Korea, India, Taiwan, and Singapore. That’s another change from 20 years ago, when the highest numbers came from Japan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, South Korea, and Pakistan.

“China and India’s population growth has been so significant that they don’t have the higher education infrastructure to accommodate all the young people who want to attend college,” according to Walter. Plus, she says, foreign families who can afford it are more willing to send their children to the United States, still considered a leader in university education.

Across most categories, BU’s national student body has become more ethnically diverse over the past 20 years. The number of entering African American freshmen has fluctuated over the years. In 1994, they represented 3.6 percent of the class. That number dipped to 1.9 percent in 2004, and has now risen to 4 percent for this year’s class. Meanwhile, Asian American students account for 17 percent. Hispanic students make up 8 percent, nearly double the number from two decades ago.                                                 

“We’ve got a really rich tapestry of backgrounds in our students, and it’s not just geographic or academic ability,” says Walter. “It’s really a richness in their ethnic, cultural, and religious backgrounds.”

Given the nation’s economic malaise, it’s not a surprise to learn that more freshmen required financial aid this year than their counterparts 20 years ago. BU responded to that increase by meeting the need. Nearly 69 percent of the Class of 2014 received some form of assistance, according to Julie Wickstrom, director of financial assistance, up from about 57 percent for the Class of 1994.

Leslie Friday can be reached at lfriday@bu.edu; follow her on Twitter at @lesliefriday.