UT projects biggest freshman class ever

AUSTIN (KXAN) - The largest freshman class ever could soon set foot on the University of Texas at Austin campus, according to predictions from the university’s Admissions Office.

Admissions officials said they are expecting a record number of freshmen to be enrolled for fall 2012 -- making it the biggest class in 10 years at the university.

Kedra Ishop, UT's vice provost and director of Admissions, said class size is determined in part by chance --  how many applications they receive -- and in part by design.

“We're rigorously going after students. We put in a lot of processes last year to recruit students,” Ishop said. “We've worked with our colleges and schools to bring in the best students to campus and get them here, and they've come."

So much so, that the university is expecting 8,000 freshmen in August. That number is about 900 more than in 2011 and would beat the current record set in 2002.          

“The largest freshman class was about 7,900 students. So, it's going to be close -- either the largest or second largest," Ishop said.

New students already are out and about on UT's campus. Freshman orientation sessions began in June and are wrapping up.

"There are so many freshmen, and the dorms have been filling up really quickly,” said Sabeeha Islam, an incoming freshman.

“We’ve added dormitories in the last years since we've had a large freshman class. We've put two dorms on campus since that time," Ishop said.

The large number of new faces can cause some difficulty when it comes to scheduling classes.

"How do we navigate those students through the courses they need, the labs, and classes they need?" Ishop asked.

But Islam said she registered successfully for the fall semester. And she said the recruiting from UT's admissions office is working.

“This institution, with the reputation it has, plus all the financial aid, the resources, and the opportunities it provides, made it very clear to me that Austin was the place to be,” Islam said.

Officials in the Admissions Office said with the projected 8,000 freshmen, total university enrollment for the year would be 51,500 -- the second largest in school history.