Fall Enrollment Sets All-Time Record

Enrollment has topped 18,000 for the first time, setting an all-time record for the ECU campus. Preliminary figures for the fall semester indicate that 18,223 students enrolled, breaking the record of 17,846 set in 1997.

Enrollment last fall was 17,799. The enrollment figures are based on counts taken this week, but they are not expected to change significantly. Officials figures are compiled in October. The 3,253 new freshmen who enrolled also set a record, eclipsing the previous mark of 2,935 set in 1997. Last year there were 2,819 new freshmen.

The preliminary average SAT score of the incoming freshmen was 1016, virtually unchanged from last year. The student body includes 15,158 undergraduates, 2,764 graduate students and 301 medical students, compared with 14,633 undergraduates, 2,863 graduate students and 303 medical students a year ago. There were 10,785 women and 7,438 men.

In 1998, the numbers were 10,559 women and 7,240 men. This fall’s enrollment includes 2,352 African-Americans, or 12.9 percent of the student body, compared with 2,160, or 12.1 percent, a year ago. The total also includes 15,729 North Carolina residents and 2,494 out-of-state students. Last year the comparable figures were 15,560 North Carolina residents and 2,239 out-of-state students. The number of international students is 187, representing 67 countries.