Meet the Class of 2017

NC State’s newest class of 4,167 freshmen is more academically gifted, better prepared and more geographically diverse than any class in recent memory.

More than half the students were ranked in the top 10 percent of their high school graduating class, which is up 9 percent from just five years ago. Their average weighted high school grade point average is an impressive 4.43.

Registrar Louis Hunt is pleased to welcome the newest members of the Wolfpack, noting that they have higher average standardized test scores and more advanced placement credits and pre-enrollment college credits than previous years.

Scores Are Way Up

“SAT and ACT scores for this class are up dramatically over the last few years,” Hunt says.

For example, the average SAT score in 2009 was 1,187, compared to the 1,244 for this year’s class. The average ACT score for the incoming class is up nearly two full points from 26.3 to 28.2. A total of 46 newcomers had a perfect score on the math portion of the SAT, while 20 had a perfect score on the critical reading portion.

More than 600 freshmen already have a leg up on their fellow classmates, having taken community college and other university classes before they enrolled at NC State. On average, those 605 students arrived with 22.7 credit hours, putting them well on their way to becoming sophomores.

That’s nearly eight hours more than current seniors who enrolled just three years ago.

More than 3,000 of this year’s freshmen submitted at least one advanced placement exam score, with an average of 4.7 AP exam scores per students that submitted scores.

Diverse Class

Hunt also touts the geographic diversity of the Class of 2017, which represents all 100 counties, all 50 states and dozens of countries around the world. There are 159 international students in this year’s freshman class, he says.

In 2007, out-of-state and international students comprised 9 percent of the freshman class; the percent is 16.1 this year.

“Our goal continues to be attracting high-quality students from around the state, the country and the world,” Hunt says. “We can still increase those numbers a little more without adversely affecting the number of in-state students that enroll.

“Overall, we want to continue bringing in a diverse group of students that will look a lot like the work place people will be in when they leave here.”

The total enrollment for all undergraduate and graduate students for the 2013-14 academic year is 34,008, down 668 from the most recent academic year.