Published: Aug. 14, 1997

The University of Colorado at Boulder expects to enroll its second-largest freshman class ever this fall if current projections hold true, with overall campus enrollment expected to fall between 24,500 and 25,000.

Fall 1996 enrollment at CU-Boulder was 24,622.

The freshman class is expected to number more than 4,100, or nearly 4 percent more than the 3,952 freshmen who enrolled in fall 1996. The largest freshman class was 4,182 in fall 1995.

The change is almost entirely due to an increase in the numbers of Colorado residents enrolling at CU-Boulder. Coloradans are expected to make up about 57 percent of the class.

The increase in freshmen can be attributed to a higher admission rate due to the increased quality of the applicant pool, and to a higher confirmation rate by admitted students wanting to attend CU-Boulder, according to Admissions Director Gary Kelsey.

Continuing undergraduate CU-Boulder students also have increased over last year by about 2 percent. The number of incoming transfers is expected to be about the same as last year, which was 1,459, while graduate enrollment will be somewhat lower. Last year it was 4,777.

Minority students will once again comprise about 15 percent of the freshman class with noticeable gains in Hispanics. Last year freshman Hispanic students numbered 219. That number is expected to rise to about 250.

Fall enrollment figures are expected to be finalized during the third week of September.