In 1970, Fairfield University received 2,249 applications and 1,346 students were admitted, 698 of which were enrolled for the fall semester.
For the class of 2011, 8,548 applications were received and 4585 students were admitted.
The office of undergraduate admissions said it will have the number of students to be enrolled for fall 2007 after the May 1 deadline.
The breakdown of applicants, according to the Univeristy Web site, is 1,924 males to 2,661 females.
There is also representation from 22 countries, including the Virgin Islands, as well as 38 states, including Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C.
“As far as I’m concerned, the new class will join an increasingly-diverse student body and should contribute to that diversity,” said University President Fr. Jeffrey von Arx. “They [the class of 2011] will begin to see the results of our strategic plan, especially a more integrated experience of living and learning.”
The average applicant SAT score was 574 on verbal, 589 on math, and 598 on writing. These are slightly lower than the scores of members of the class of 2010.
Looking forward, the class of 2011 is expected to continue the rising trend toward a more diverse student body.
Fairfield experienced a 6 percent increase in total applications, another trend among universities nationwide.
“There are more high school graduates in the country, and a larger percentage of those students are applying to college, which is driving the increases in application across the country,” said Karen Pellegrino, director of undergraduate admissions.
Currently students are applying to more and more colleges than in the past to ensure secure enrollment.
“Many students have applied to more schools than in the past in order to guarantee they have a few choices,” said Pellegrino.
In order to experience growth among the Fairfield community the admissions department pursues traditional recruitment activities such as visiting high schools, attending college fairs and hosting events on campus, such as last Saturday’s Accepted Students Day, the second opportunity for the class of 2011 to visit.
“We have also recognized that more students are doing their research on colleges and universities online, and therefore we have also tried to enhance the information available to students on our Web site,” said Pellegrino.
While the past two freshman classes have been the largest yet, Pellegrino said that the Univeristy is not looking to increase the student body.
“It is important to note that although our last two freshman classes have been larger than anticipated, this is not part of a plan to increase the size of the undergraduate body,” said Pellegrino.
Before the 2011 applicants were tallied up, the class of 2000 had the largest enrolled freshman class: 1,008 students.
Although the benefits of a large class are shown through the increased diversity, some problems have arisen.
With the incoming class being the largest yet, some students are complaining that the longtime issue of housing will continue to worsen.
Currently, not all rising sophomores have been assigned housing, an issue over which students have voiced concern.
“It’s just going to cause problems next year, especially if they over-accept like they did with our year,” said Kate Ambrozewycz ’10, who does not currently have housing.
However, Cady said that freshman housing will not hinder the housing process for current students.
“At this point, we do not have any reason to believe that the class of 2011 will exceed expected projections for the class, said Deb Cady, associate dean of residence life. “We do expect that approximately one third of the incoming class will be living in converted-triple rooms this coming fall based upon our housing availability after completing sophomore, junior and senior assignments.”
“Class of 2011 housing has been designated according to our first year halls in Regis, Campion, Gonzaga and Dolan halls. Sophomores unable to select during the lottery process will be housed prior to incoming students first, but in sophomore hall communities including Jogues, Claver and Kostka,” said Cady.
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