The class of 2018 reports highest test scores in University history

The+class+of+2018+reports+highest+test+scores+in+University+history

With simply their arrival, the freshman class of 2018 has already improved the standing of the University through record-breaking standardized test scores.

Newly released fall enrollment statistics show the average student’s ACT score now stands at 29 points, up four-tenths of a point from last year’s score of 28.6. The average SAT score jumped a full 28 points, from 1344 in 2013 to 1372 in 2014.

Additionally, 58 percent of students in the freshman class were in the top 10 percent of their high school class and 12 percent were in the top 1 percent.

Nearly one-third of incoming freshmen are enrolled in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, followed by 22 percent of students in the College of Engineering and 21 percent in the Division of General Studies.

“The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is fortunate to have an academically talented and diverse freshman class this year,” Keith Marshall, interim director of Enrollment Management and associate provost, wrote in an email.

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Marshall explained that the admissions office uses a holistic review process to admit the most qualified students into the University.

“This year’s record number of applications produced a freshman class with truly amazing academic credentials across a broad range of disciplines,” he said.

For Kassy Clark, freshman in LAS, she was enthusiastic about her class’s record-breaking achievement.

“This should make us proud of ourselves,” Clark said. “It’s good because it proves that college is getting harder every year, and that U of I is becoming a better school and harder to get into each year.”

However, she also realizes that her classmates are her competition.

Mary Grace Chizewski, high school senior and current University applicant, had a similar opinion.

“Hearing that the average ACT score has been raised to 29 makes me nervous that the requirements to get in have been raised, making competition to get in even tougher,” Chizewski said. “But I am comforted knowing I meet the criteria and excited that U of I is becoming even more of a prestigious school.”

Abigale can be reached at [email protected].