Welcome Class of 2021. You're great
Slippery Rock University orientation ambassadors helped the Class of 2021 learn about the campus earlier this summer. SRU is expecting its largest freshman class in history with more than 1,600 students.
Aug. 21, 2017
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. - One of the last items on Martha Dunkelberger's shopping list before leaving home for college were bed sheets. The extra-long twin sheets she needed for her residence hall bed had to be the proper size, color and had to "feel just right."
For Dunkelberger and the rest of Slippery Rock University's Class of 2021, the same could be said of a much bigger decision: where to attend college. When SRU fall classes begin Aug. 28, the University is anticipating welcoming its largest freshman class ever at 1,635. The lofty figure doesn't just represent a greater quantity of student, but also a higher quality.
DUNKELBERGER
"The institution is on target to hit the largest freshman class in its history while maintaining the same standards and academic quality of the class," said Amanda Yale, associate provost for enrollment management. "The size of our freshman class is an indication that an SRU education is in high demand."
Dunkelberger, a dance major from Spring Mills and the valedictorian at Penns Valley High School with a 4.0 grade-point average, is representative of the classes' quality. The average high school GPA of the incoming freshmen class is 3.42; 81.5 percent posted a 3.0 GPA or higher; and 12.3 percent graduated in the top 10 percent of their high school class - all increases compared to the Class of 2020.
While Dunkelberger's search for the right bed sheets may have taken her to a wide variety of retail outlets, her search for an institution of higher learning was an abbreviated one, courtesy of an article about SRU's nationally ranked dance program she read shortly after visiting the campus.
"Once I read that, I said, 'Yes, this is where I want to go,'" said Dunkelberger, who danced for 13 years at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Arts. "I didn't even want to look at any more colleges. I'm looking forward to getting back in the studio and having such advanced, talented artists to learn from."
Eight programs at SRU are expecting to exceed last year's freshman enrollment by 10 or more students, including the most popular major, exercise science, with 310 freshman, 56 more than last year's class. Other majors with large increases include special education (122 students, an increase of 34), physics and engineering (47, +27) and computing (64, +16).
"We diversified our majors and opportunities by expanding our programs, increasing the number of students in existing majors and awarding a greater number of scholarships," Yale said. "These are all signs of a thriving campus community."
The SRU Honors Program is expecting 133 enrollees, up from 76 last year. The University offered nearly 670 scholarships of $1,000 per year or more from the following awards: Merit (159), Merit Plus (16), Green & White (66), SRU Achievement (115), Rock Opportunity (277) and Board of Governors (36).
Dunkelberger received a scholarship as part of the Honors Program but she also received a Merit Scholarship of $2,000 per year. This money is important to her family, especially with an older sister, Margaret, already in college and a younger brother, John, who has yet to attend.
Connor Mattera, a freshman health care administration and management major from Conneautville, received an Achievement Scholarship of $1,500 per year.
MATTERA
"I really appreciate. It's really meaningful," Mattera said. "I feel very privileged to be able to receive a scholarship."
Unlike Dunkelberger, who is more than a three-hour drive from campus, Mattera is more familiar with the area and the University from having friends who already attend SRU. While 20 states and 28 countries are represented in the Class of 2021, nearly 90 percent of the class hails from Pennsylvania, including 1,222 students from western Pennsylvania, an increase of 70 from last year's class.
"Our increases in the number of the students from areas we emphasize like, western Pennsylvania, means that our faculty, staff and alumni are connected in our region," Yale said. "We are backing up our reputation as an institution where students go to succeed."
Mattera hails from Crawford County, which has a year-over-year increase of 14 students, while freshmen from Westmoreland (+39) and Butler (+27) counties are also significantly higher than last year.
"It's a perfect location because it's far enough away where I feel like I'm getting away and starting fresh but close enough to where I can come home any weekend I want to," Mattera said.
Whether for the right location, size, cost or major - or all of the above - more and more students are finding SRU fitting their needs like a tucked in bed sheet. Now, they're ready to get comfortable.
"I'm looking forward to the whole college experience and meeting new people and just being able to be presented with new opportunities," Mattera added.
MEDIA CONTACT: Justin Zackal | 724.738.4854 | justin.zackal@sru.edu