Belmont University announced its total Fall 2007 enrollment today at 4,765 students at the end of the registration period, marking an increase of 6.3 percent since last year and a rise of just over 60 percent since 2000 when the school enrolled 2,976 students. The Belmont student body currently comprises 726 graduate students and 4,039 undergraduates, representing record enrollment in both categories.
“Belmont is growing in remarkable ways, both in the number of students enrolling in our programs and the academic qualifications they’re bringing to this campus,” said Belmont President Dr. Robert Fisher. “This marks our seventh consecutive year of record enrollment even though our acceptance rate has become much more selective. To me, this proves that our talented faculty and staff are attracting top-notch students, students who embrace our mission to engage and transform the world.”
Since 2000, Belmont’s full-time undergraduate enrollment has increased by more than 1,500 students, and this year’s incoming class represents 43 states and seven foreign countries. The university received a record number of applications of which a competitive 62 percent were accepted, down from 72 percent in 2005. The average ACT score for the 2007-08 freshman class is 26. One-third of new freshmen at Belmont were in the top 10 percent of their graduating class, including 30 valedictorians and 12 salutatorians, and they held an average cumulative high school GPA of 3.5.
In the annual U.S. News & World Report ranking of America’s best colleges and universities, Belmont is now ranked 11th in the South in the “Best Universities – Masters” category, making Belmont the highest ranked university in Tennessee in this category. The rankings are based on several quality indicators including student retention rates, graduation rates, student-faculty ratios and scores on college entrance exams.
