Duquesne’s award-winning orientation program helped incoming freshmen become acclimated to campus life through a number of events and programs, including the Graffiti Dance on Wednesday, Aug. 22, where freshmen Sam Connolly (right) and Bridget Trabbold (left) posed for a picture with Iceburgh (middle) from the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Duquesne’s award-winning orientation program helped incoming freshmen become acclimated to campus life through a number of events and programs, including the Graffiti Dance on Wednesday, Aug. 22, where freshmen Sam Connolly (right) and Bridget Trabbold (left) posed for a picture with Iceburgh (middle) from the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Gabriella DiPietro | News Editor
08/23/18
A new academic year brings a new wave of students, and this year’s freshman class is one of the largest and most diverse in university history.
In Duquesne University’s 140-year history, the Class of 2022 is one of its top five largest classes, with more than 1,500 incoming freshmen, according to the university’s Enrollment Management Group (EMG). It is also among the top three most racially diverse classes in university history, with a high representation of Asian, Black non-Hispanic and Hispanic students, making approximately 17 percent of freshman students from minority groups.
“Diversity – including racial, socioeconomic and geographic is a key focus for enrollment management,” said Paul-James Cukanna, vice president of enrollment management. “We have worked hard to develop initiatives to sustain diversity and are pleased to have such a diverse incoming class, which adds so much to the culture, sophistication and spirit of our university community.”
Twenty-eight percent of freshman this year are from outside Pennsylvania, representing 32 states plus Puerto Rico, including some students traveling from as far as Texas, Florida and California. Freshman students also hail from around the world, representing up to 13 countries, including Brazil, China, India, Germany and more.
The university also boasts an increased number of legacy students. This year, 24 percent of incoming freshmen have relatives who are DU alumni.
Duquesne, which was named among The Princeton Review’s Best 384 Colleges and ranked as No. 225 on Money Magazine’s “Best Colleges for Your Money” list, also proved to be a top choice for most of the Class of 2022. Approximately 95 percent of freshmen indicated that the university was either their first or second choice, and many students decided to come to Duquesne because of the size of the university, its urban location and programs of study.
This year was one of the most selective years ever at the university, with an acceptance rate of approximately 72 percent.
Debbie Zugates, director of undergraduate admission, noted that while the Class of 2022 is one of the university’s largest, the total number of freshman students will not be finalized until later in the semester.
“Preliminary enrollment statistics show that this is one of the largest, most racially diverse and academically talented freshman classes in Duquesne’s 140-year history,” said Zugates. “Final enrollment figures will be available after the university census in late September.”
The new freshman class has a mean SAT score of 1215, which is one of the highest average SAT scores that Duquesne has seen thus far.
In addition to the incoming freshmen, the university also welcomes approximately 200 new transfer students this fall.
