North Central College begins academic year with record number of students

Oct 02, 2013

North Central College began the 2013-2014 academic year Sept. 16 with a record number of students.

Total enrollment stands at 3,048 undergraduate and graduate students, eclipsing the 3,000 mark for the second straight year. The College welcomed 852 new full-time undergraduate students. Enrollment this fall includes a record number of international students and increased representation of out-of-state students and veterans.

“We are extremely pleased to attract so many students interested in the high-quality education North Central College provides,” says Martin Sauer, dean of admission and financial aid. “The record enrollment the College continues to experience is an affirmation of the individual attention, outstanding experience, unparalleled location, strength in faculty and academic programs and commitment to affordability that have long been North Central trademarks.”

For fall 2013, the incoming class includes 55 new international students from countries as diverse as Mongolia, Niger, Yemen, China, Sweden, Turkey and Spain. The gender ratio of the class of 2017 is nearly balanced at 49 percent male and 51 percent female. Eighty-four percent of first-year students are living on campus.

The undergraduate class had the largest applicant pool in North Central history, with more than 5,000 undergraduate applications. Among first-year students, 21 percent are non-majority students. Graduate school enrollment includes 88 new students this fall.

Enrollment numbers were certified two weeks after fall term classes began. The College’s academic calendar consists of three 10-week terms, a summer session and a December Term.

North Central College recently received national recognition from multiple college guides. U.S. News & World Report placed North Central among “America’s Best Colleges” for 2014, ranking it No. 13 among 110 schools in the Midwest. The Princeton Review named North Central a Best Midwestern College, and Forbes ranked North Central among the top 20 percent of colleges in the nation. G.I. Jobs magazine rated North Central College a 2014 Military Friendly School, and North Central was named a “High ROI College” by Affordable Colleges Online. Colleges of Distinction cited North Central as “one of the best comprehensive liberal arts colleges in the nation” for 2013-2014.