Ohio State's first-year class of 6,162 students, recruited from 19,000 applicants, is the most talented and best-prepared in the university's history in terms of test scores and class rank, continuing a trend that began 12 years ago. The average ACT score for the class was 26.4; the average SAT score was 1200. Forty-four percent were in the top 10 percent of their high school class and 80 percent were in the top 25 percent of their class.
As Ohio State students have become better prepared academically, more are staying in school and graduating. In 1994, 78 percent of freshman stayed to their sophomore year. This year, a record 91.5 percent of first-year students who entered a year ago have returned.
Diversity is also up, with students of color accounting for 15.8 percent of the 2006 freshman class, and 16.1 percent of the total university enrollment. There was a record high enrollment of 241 for American Indian or Alaskan Native students, a record high enrollment of 2,887 for Asian or Pacific Islander students and a record high of 1,305 for Hispanic students. African American enrollment remained nearly steady with 3,889 students, a declined of 0.1 percent.
