MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Preliminary numbers show the freshmen class at the University of Minnesota could be the largest in decades.

Vice Provost and Dean Robert McMaster says the 6,200 freshman students this year eclipses the 2017 class as the largest in 50 years. Although the official enrollment number won’t be published until later this fall.

McMaster tells KARE-TV the university extended more offers to prospective students in 2019 after experiencing a slight decrease in applications. The number of applications fell from 44,000 last year to roughly 40,000 this year. He says the offers resulted in the large incoming class.

Out-of-state and international student numbers appear to have increased in 2019. Last year, those figures dropped to their lowest percentage levels in about a decade. The overall class of almost 6,000 consisted of 4.8% international students and about 12% out-of-state students.
___
Information from: KARE-TV, http://www.kare11.com

Click here to LIKE Southern Minnesota News on Facebook.

Click here to FOLLOW @SouthernMNnews on Twitter.

(Copyright © 2019 the Associated Press. Alpha Media Mankato. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)