Indiana State University Newsroom

Indiana State University once again made history this fall when the campus welcomed a record-high number of students.

The official fifth-day count for total enrollment is 13,771 Sycamores, a 1.52 percent increase over last year's enrollment. The previous record was set in 2015 with 13,584 students.

"It has been such an honor to see enrollment grow over the nine years I've been on campus. Knowing that the quality of students -- measured by overall improvements in GPA and standardized test scores -- has improved, too, is gratifying, because it signifies high-performing students choose State as the place to prepare them for their careers," said President Dan Bradley, who will retire in January.

The freshman Class of 2021 is 2,688, which is a 9.8 percent increase over last year's freshman cohort. The change was largely due to a 66 percent increase in Illinois students, with 402 students choosing State in 2017, compared to 242 in 2016.

Enrollment in the university's Honors Program is also at an all-time high of 982 students (319 freshmen). This year, 1,556 Laptop/iPad Scholarships were awarded to students with a 3.0 high school GPA or higher on a 4.0 scale. In 2006, the university awarded just 677 laptops.

Other highlights of the 2017-18 fall student body include the following:

• 11,591 total undergraduate enrollment, an increase of 3.47 percent from 2016.

• 8,787 Indiana undergraduates, an increase of 1.33 percent.

• 2,510 online students, an increase of 8.6 percent.

• Student retention was up 3.6 percent, the highest level since 2006.

"The success of this recruitment cycle started last fall when we received a record number of applications," said John Beacon, senior vice president for enrollment management, marketing and communications. "Students want to become Sycamores because we are committed to making a college education affordable and to offering the best academic and career-prepping opportunities for every student at State."

Indiana State is waiving the fee to apply to the university until Oct. 1. Go to indstate.edu/apply for more information.

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Media Contact: Libby Roerig, director of communications and media relations, Office of Communications and Marketing, Indiana State University, 812-237-3790 or libby.roerig@indstate.edu