By Eli Hughes–

The number of first-time undergraduate students enrolling at U of L fell 6 percent this semester compared to last year. However, graduate student enrollment rose by 2 percent up to about 6,450.

Jim Begany, U of L Vice Provost for Strategic Enrollment Management and Student Success suggests that these differences are likely due to recent development in graduate business and education programs.

“The College of Business started an online MBA program and an on-campus master’s in business analytics. Undergraduate enrollment is slightly down to fairly flat as we see impacts from COVID-19 and shifts in demographics,” Begany said. “We have done better than most but certainly are impacted by the current environment when recruiting and retaining students.”

Despite declining enrollment, the U of L undergraduate class of 2025 is still diverse according to the enrollment report. 20.24 percent identify as African American or multiracial and 7.06 percent are Hispanic/Latino.

The students also come from all over the country as 23.72 percent are from states other than Kentucky. 38 states are represented across the freshman class.

The class of 2025 has an average ACT score of 25.64 and an average high school GPA of 3.63. Many students decided to prepare for college by taking some classes before their freshman year, so 47.6 percent have some college credit entering U of L.

33.05 percent of this freshman class are first-generation college students. 64.05 percent live on campus and 246 freshmen are part-time students.

File Graphic//The Louisville Cardinal