SUNY New Paltz welcomes more than 1,880 new students

NEW PALTZ — More than 1,065 first-year students will move into their new homes on the State University of New York at New Paltz campus on Monday, Aug. 22, during the annual Move-in Day. They will be joined by about 815 new transfer students throughout the week.

From an applicant pool of nearly 14,500, New Paltz received 11,500 freshmen applications and 3,000 transfer applications. With an acceptance rate of 43 percent for first-year students and 46 percent for transfers, New Paltz remains one of the most selective universities in the Northeast and is among the 5 percent of campuses across the country who accept less than half of their applicants.

“I am extremely proud of the caliber of student that we are attracting and enrolling at New Paltz,” said President Steven Poskanzer. “The strength of our academic programs coupled with the natural beauty of the region, make New Paltz more and more appealing to students and their families. We simply have so much to offer and people are beginning to realize we are a comparable alternative to many of the Northeast’s private colleges.”

This year, 94 percent of New Paltz’s accepted freshmen came from the top two of five SUNY quality groups, up from 89 percent last year and 75 percent in 2001. First-year students from the top two groups have a mean SAT score of 1160 and a high school average of 90. The average SAT score for college-bound students in 2003 was 1006 for New York state and 1026 nationally.

For the 15th consecutive year, New Paltz has led all SUNY university colleges in total applications received, total freshmen applications and total transfer applications.

Transfer admission is also selective. New Paltz accepted 46 percent of its transfer applicants, 64 percent from the seven regional community colleges, the others coming from other two- and four-year schools around the globe. The new transfer students have an average GPA of 3.25.

While entry to New Paltz is becoming more selective, the university is still attracting qualified students from all backgrounds – just above 21 percent of the incoming freshmen come from historically underrepresented groups.

Moreover, while the demand for a New Paltz education continues to grow, retention is also improving dramatically. The first-year retention rate for fall 2005 is expected to be at 85 percent, up significantly from 76 percent just seven years ago. This incoming class is larger than last year’s because of a smaller incoming class last year, however, total enrollment for the fall semester is expected to be about 8,000, which is consistent with past years.

“We have no intention to grow our undergraduate class size,” said Poskanzer, “we do, however, look to modestly grow our overall graduate program enrollment.”

First-year students will witness both the grand opening of the new Athletic and Wellness Center and the grand re-opening of van den Berg Hall (formerly known as van den Berg Learning Center), which will be home to the School of Business and the Nursing program.

Note to editors: Media are invited to cover Move-in Day on Monday, Aug. 22. The majority of the activity occurs between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Contact the Office of Public Affairs at 257-3245 for details.