This year's incoming freshman class will be slightly smaller than last year, according to admission rates so far, but a smaller class doesn't mean it will be less diverse.

Jim Cotter, senior associate director in the Office of Admissions and Scholarships, said they are confident the freshman class will be more diverse than last year.

"I feel more students now look to MSU for diversity," he said. "We've extended our outreach programs, such as more high school visits and on-site application reviews."

Cotter said such programs could be the reason why the incoming class appears to be more diverse than last year.

Approximately 750 fewer freshmen were admitted this year than last year. Cotter said this decision was based on comparing how many students accepted the offer to attend MSU last fall.

"Last year, fewer people walked away from our offer, and we weren't expecting that," he said. "As a result, the size ballooned."

The admissions office expects about 7,150 freshman to attend MSU in the fall, compared with 7,362 last year. He said this year, MSU targeted a smaller class because the university predicted the same pattern would occur.

"Our target for this year was 7,150 to 7,200," he said. "But numbers are changing weekly, and it's hard to give exact estimates and outcomes of what the class will look like by the fall."

Representatives from Housing and Food Services declined to comment on how the smaller class would affect residence halls because the numbers are still changing.

Cotter also said that since MSU is perceived as an institution committed to diversity, it is reflected in the applicant pool as well as the admittance pool and could also contribute to the increase in a more diverse class.

Murray Edwards, senior coordinator at the Office of Racial and Ethnic Student Affairs, said this fall, the office will work to publicize itself as a source for minority students.

"A lot of ethnic students, or students in general, don't even know about this office," he said. "So we will send out more brochures and are updating our Web site now."

Geneva Thomas, former president of Black Student Alliance, or BSA, said groups such as BSA are advocators for students of colors.

"BSA acts as the advocator between administrators and staff, and throughout the school year we help freshmen adjust to the reality of being a black student at MSU," she said.

But criminal justice senior Ezequiel Garcia said MSU has a long way to go to become diverse.

"My first year here, I didn't see any type of diversity because I was put in a dorm with all white students and didn't engage with any other Latino or black students until after I got out the dorms," he said. "When it comes to being more diversified, MSU does have a long way to go."

Edwards says that MSU has the resources to help all students of color, but the problem is that students aren't accessing them.