Gaining and Retaining: UC Enrollment on a Roll with Third Straight Record

The best just got better.

The University of Cincinnati reported to the state this month an all-time record 44,251 overall enrollment – exceeding last month's 44,000 projection. It also tops last year's then-best enrollment mark of 43,691.

First-year

retention rate also hit a historic high point at 88.3 percent

for the 2014 Uptown Campus full-time baccalaureate cohort. That's up 2.1 percent from last year, up 3.8 percent in five years and nearing the target of 90 percent set for UC's bicentennial in 2019.

A closer look at retention reveals gains across the board, with

all colleges posting positive numbers

. It's a feat that's practically unheard of according to Caroline Miller, vice provost and senior associate vice president for enrollment management.

The good news on retention also extends into diversity. Statistics show that

when students of color enroll at the university, it's very likely they'll stay

. Reported retention by race: 89.7 percent for Asians, 91.2 percent for blacks, 88 percent for Hispanics and 89.5 percent for students of multiple ethnicities. This year's retention rate for white students is 87.9 percent.

Additionally, this class includes an overall 2.2 percent increase in freshmen students of color for a total of 21.9 percent. There's also an overall increase in international students for a total of 3,373, compared to last year's 3,193.

The final enrollment report from

UC's Office of Institutional Research

shows

several other records for Uptown Campus baccalaureate degree-seeking freshmen in 2015

:

•    Average ACT score: 25.7 (up from 25.5 last year and from 23.8 just a decade ago; nearing the target of 27 set for 2019)

•    Average SAT score: 1163 (up from 1154 last year)

•    Average high school GPA: 3.476 (up from 3.459 last year)

•    National Merit/Achievement Scholarship recipients: 51 (up from 48 last year; nearing the target of 60 set for 2019)

Other Uptown Campus freshmen earning financial aid: 1,474 Cincinnatus Scholarship recipients, 40 Darwin T. Turner Scholars, 22 Christos P. Demakes Legacy Scholars and 103 Cincinnati Pride Grant recipients.

NIPPERT TOPS LIST OF WHAT'S NEW

This year students have

many new projects to explore

– the biggest of which will be the overhauled Nippert Stadium.

NEW WAYS TO LEARN

There are

lots of new academic programs

too, including UC's first undergraduate major in the College of Medicine.

BE A BEARCAT

UC's Office of Admissions can help you find out more about how to

become a University of Cincinnati student

.

VISIT CAMPUS

See for yourself why Forbes Magazine called UC one of the World's Most Beautiful Campuses by

scheduling a visit

.

CINCINNATI SMART

Learn about the unique and effective way of learning that

combines excellent classroom experiences with real-world opportunities

made possible through UC.