First-Year Class

University of Wisconsin - River Falls

October 3, 1997

UW-RF Admits One of Best First-Year Classes in Its History

When classes began in September at UW-River Falls, the institution again welcomed one of the brightest incoming classes in its 123-year history.

"Our overall freshman class is again one of our best," said Alan Tuchtenhagen, admissions director. "We have one of the brightest incoming classes in the UW-System."

Of the 1,152 new incoming freshman:

  • Some 48 percent graduated in the top 25 percent of their high school class. Eighty-eight percent graduated in the top half of their high school class.

  • The average ACT score of 22.7 is up from last year, ranking above the state average of 22.3 and the national average of 21.0.

  • UW-RF was the university of first choice for incoming first year students as they went about the work of selecting their college.
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    Tuchtenhagen noted that UW-RF has been attracting exceptional students because of its exacting admissions standards. For example, the September edition of Money Magazine , which reviews more than 1,000 American colleges and universities, ranks UW-RF as one of the top two schools in the 26-campus UW-System for the most selective admissions standards. Only River Falls and UW- Madison set a preference for students in the upper 40 percent of their high school graduating class. All others set a threshold for the upper 50 percent, or less.

    The latest U.S. News and World Report's ranking of colleges and universities also ranks UW-RF very favorably academically, according to Tuchtenhagen.

    Academic disciplines seeing the greatest demand among those new students include: elementary education in the nationally ranked College of Education & Professional Studies; the sciences, particularly in the Centers of Excellence for undergraduate physics and chemistry, as well as in biotechnology, food sciences and biology; the School of Business & Economics; and in the College of Agriculture, Food & Environmental Sciences.

    Fall enrollment at UW-RF is 5,441 students. The total freshman class numbers 1,546 students, which includes transfer students and continuing freshman. The number of new freshman admitted was limited to between 1,150 and 1,160 students, a cap which will remain into next year.

    "We receive applications from far more students than we can admit," Tuchtenhagen said. "Prospective students need to apply early."

    For more information, contact the Admissions Office at 715/425-3500.


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