The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has registered a record-high freshman enrollment of 8,303 for the 2021-22 academic year. This brings the total student enrollment to 56,299, the largest in the history of the university.
Chancellor Robert Jones welcomed this class and said that the universitys unmatched COVID-19 testing program, COVID-19 vaccines and ongoing innovation had led to this increase, which would further let them continue to offer excellent education even during the global pandemic.
The class of 2025 includes 1,112 international students representing 42 countries, as compared to 954 students before the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The totals also include 5,835 new students from the state, the largest in-state students in the freshman class since 2018 and the second largest in the last decade. These students represent over 90 countries throughout the state.
The freshman classes have 20.1% of students from underrepresented communities and first-generation students each.
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It also has a strong academic profile, with an average ACT score of 31.4 (29.8 in 2018) and an average SAT score of 1410 (1331 in 2020). Although tests such as the ACT and SAT were optional for admissions due to the COVID-19, around 58% of the new applicants submitted their scores.
The total undergraduate enrollment of 34,559 in 2020 was also higher than the previous years record of 33,850.
Enrollment in Fall 2021 also set records for total number of graduate students with 20,567, up from 17,866 in 2020 and 1,173 students in the fields of law, medicine and veterinary medicine, up from a record 1,123 in 2011.
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Amid the pandemic, a lot of international students deferred admission to 2021 from last year, leading to 2,859 new international student enrollment for fall 2021, up from 1,521 in 2020.
In addition, the demand for masters programs, both online and in-person, have resulted in in a 22.8% increase, leading to them representing 66% of total graduate student enrollment.
Source: Illinois News Bureau
