New class of Wildcats breaking university records

TUCSON, AZ (Tucson News Now) - It's a big day for over 2,000 University of Arizona students as they move in to their residence halls. Doors open to students at over 20 residence halls scattered across the campus on Thursday, Aug. 16.

According to the U of A, this year's class of first-year students is quite accomplished. This year's freshman class is among the most academically accomplished in the university's history, with a 7 percent increase in the number of students entering with a 4.0 grade point average and a 16 percent jump in students with a GPA between 3.75 and 3.99.

The new Wildcats, 7,900 that are incoming freshmen and the roughly 2,000 that are transfers, helped to set other university records as well. There were a record-setting number of applications for their class, according to the university, and international freshmen enrollment is now up 36 percent.

One of the applicants-turned-students who helped to set those records is Lindsey Riordan. She comes to the U of A to start her journey as a new Wildcat all the way from Connecticut. She says that while she's very excited to be here, there are a few things she has concerns about.

"I'm nervous about the communal bathrooms a little bit. I'm nervous to find a group. But I'll meet people, and I'm nervous to get lost because I don't want to hold a map out," she said with a laugh.

Students like Riordan that come from quite a distance away aren't entirely rare in the newest class of Wildcats. The university says that aside from students who reside in Arizona that make up 60 percent of the newest class, the top five most popular places students are coming from are: California, Illinois, Texas, Washington, and Colorado. And when it comes to the top five most popular colleges the new students majors fall under the College of Science takes first place. After that it's the Eller College of Management, the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, the College of Social and Behavioral Science, and the College of Medicine.

For Delores Kislow, a mom to triplets that are starting their first year at the U of A, the trek to the university wasn't all that bad. She and her family come from Santa Barbara, CA. Kislow said today's move-in day is a special one.

"I'm super proud. I'm so excited. I cant wait to see what their journey is and just follow it along and hopefully they include me," she said.

Students like the Kislows and Riordan are a part of the undergraduate class that set new records at the university, but their older counterparts managed to do the same. More than 8,000 new graduate students are starting at the U of A this year, that's a new record for the university.

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