SARAH STOESZ | sstoesz@butler.edu | Asst. News Editor
Freshmen walking to a picnic with their Student Orientation Guides during Welcome Week.
Butler’s newest freshman class followed the recent trend of declining class sizes.
There are 988 new first-year students on campus.
This is 11 percent decrease from just two years ago.
In his State of the University speech, Butler University President James Danko said there was “more softness” in the incoming freshman class than anticipated, referring to the class’ size.
The class of 2018 is also more geographically diverse than the class of 2017.
The freshmen come from 37 different states, five more than the sophomores.
However, there is less diversity in terms of the amount of international students. The class of 2018 represented six different countries whereas the class of 2017 represented 22.
There was a 1 percent increase in the amount of minority students. About 15 percent represent minorities.
A little more than half the class is from out of state with 46 percent hailing from Indiana.
About 42 percent of the freshman class are boys and about 58 percent are girls.
The most popular major among the freshman class is pre-pharmacy with 123 students. Exploratory business follows with 121 students.
The class also continues Butler’s track record of attracting high-performing students. There are 11 Lilly Scholars and three National Merit Semifinalists. The average high school grade point average was 3.52.
“Academically, this is a great class,” said Aimee Scheuermann, director of admission. “They have an academic profile that is slightly higher than last year’s class. We expect great things from them.”
The class of 2018 also was involved in activities and service projects related to social justice.
“I really appreciated, from what I was hearing from our admission team, active engagement in co-curricular activities outside of the classroom,” Scheuermann said. “A lot of students writing essays or involved in clubs and organizations that were about social justice or opportunities to create awareness for rights, action, to make something better. I am super excited to see what this class is going to bring.”
