ASU welcomes record number of Arizona freshmen

Editor's note: This story is being highlighted in ASU Now's year in review. To read more top stories from 2017, click here.

For the fifth year in a row, Arizona State University is enrolling more freshmen from Arizona than the year prior, the fruit of the university’s continued commitment to help educate the state it serves and to provide access to higher education for all students who meet the academic requirements for admission.

When classes begin Thursday, approximately 11,500 freshmen will represent the Class of 2021 across four of ASU’s five metropolitan campuses — Tempe, Polytechnic, Downtown Phoenix and West — and the ASU location at Lake Havasu City. Of those students, 7,500 are Arizona residents.

The Arizona freshman class is the most diverse class to date, with approximately 53 percent of Arizona-based freshmen coming from underrepresented populations.

Related: Thousands of freshmen move into ASU residence halls

ASU has created a network of learning environments to serve students in ways that fits their needs and interests. Each of ASU’s Valley campuses has a different flavor and feel, and students are recognizing the options they have within the university. West campus saw a 30 percent increase in freshman enrollment this year, with 590 freshmen; the Polytechnic campus grew its freshman class 12 percent, with 620 freshmen; and the Downtown Phoenix campus is up about 3 percent, with 1,500 freshmen.

And freshman enrollment is up in ASU’s digital immersion, or online, programs as well, more than 60 percent over fall 2016. The total freshman class represents ASU’s largest incoming class ever.

ASU’s continued growth speaks to its pledge to create a new kind of university that operates at the scale to serve all who are qualified and choose to seek a higher education and does so at the highest levels of academic and research excellence while maintaining affordable access. After financial aid and scholarships, the average Arizona resident pays only $1,800 in tuition at ASU.

International enrollment at ASU has also remained strong. ASU hosts more international students than any other public university in the country as it continues to expand global partnerships and support high-level research for both undergraduate and graduate students.

ASU’s record freshmen enrollment follows the record of nearly 10,000 undergraduates receiving diplomas in May 2017.