Admission goals and standards for St. Thomas’ incoming class of 2017 have so far been met, according to Director of Admissions and Financial Aid Kris Roach.
As of Wednesday, 1,363 incoming freshmen submitted a confirmation deposit indicating their intention to enroll next fall. When the class of 2016 walked the March Through the Arches ceremony in fall 2012, it encompassed 1,460 freshmen.
Roach said the current number of students enrolled is “dynamic,” meaning the exact number of students that will actually attend St. Thomas next year could change.
“Most students make a decision by May 1, but St. Thomas usually sees some activity over the summer,” Roach said. “The whole admission process is dependent on the decision-making process of 18-year-olds, so it’s fluid.”
Roach said the goal for enrollment is between 1,350-1,400 students.
Currently, the class of 2017 is 52 percent male. It’s made up of 12.4 percent students of color, an increase from last year’s freshman class, which Roach said was 9-10 percent students of color. The average ACT score for the class is 26 and the average GPA is about 3.6.
Sophomore Sean Warner, a Tommie Ambassador who has had the chance to meet some members of the class of 2017, said from what he has seen, the future Tommies will be an enthusiastic class.
“In the tours they are really friendly, and they ask a lot of questions,” Warner said. “Most of the kids that are coming here for sure are really involved, like (in) student council, sports, those kinds of things.”
Incoming freshman Mitch Sullivan, a senior at St. Charles North High School in Illinois, is one of the captains of his high school’s mock trial team, and is also involved in the music department. Sullivan said St. Thomas’ welcoming atmosphere made his decision to attend an easy one.
“The first thing I thought was that the campus was really nice,” Sullivan said. “And then as I was walking around campus all of the people I met there were super nice, I remember everyone was holding doors, everyone was saying ‘hi.’”
Roach said the future students she has met will make great additions to the St. Thomas community.
“The students that we’ve been able to get to know through this process seem to be really wonderful people, excited about becoming Tommies, very involved in high school in every possible way, lots of people who have done a lot of volunteer work, service work,” Roach said.
Sullivan said coming from the suburbs of Chicago, he is most excited for the change of scenery that will come with his first year at St. Thomas.
Warner said one thing that has surprised him is the level of responsibility and commitment to St. Thomas he has seen from the future freshmen.
“They’re taking care of things a lot sooner, which I’m really surprised about,” Warner said. “They’ve all pretty much put their deposits in and have applied. There’s not a lot of kids who are on the fence about St. Thomas.”
Roach said in terms of involvement and statistics like GPA and ACT scores, accepted members of the class of 2017 have met all expectations.
“It looks great in terms of all of the things we watch, but then in terms of the people we’ve met and all of the personalities and their enthusiasm seems really great too,” Roach said.
Gabrielle Martinson can be reached at mart5649@stthomas.edu.