MSU received a record number of applications this year, bringing in more than 33,100. Of those freshmen applications, approximately 17,300 were in-state residents, about 6,900 were domestic out-of-state residents and more than 9,000 were international students.
“We received applications from more than 125 countries — they came everywhere from Albania to Zimbabwe,” director of admissions Jim Cotter said.
Most applications for freshmen international students came from China, India, Korea, Nigeria, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia and Taiwan. There was also a significant growth in domestic out-of-state freshmen applications from Illinois, California, Texas, New Jersey, New York and Ohio.
Right now, there are about 7800 expected students, and about 70 percent of those applicants are Michigan residents. The numbers will not be considered official until after the orientation process for the fall 2014 semester begins.
Cotter said this is a two percent increase from previous years, despite the fact that the size of the graduating students in Michigan decreased by seven percent from last year.
In 2014, the projected number of Michigan high school graduates is 106,547. Last year, the number was 113,887, according to the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education.
Cotter said the increase in applications has been gradual and could be seen as a transition of branding they began five or six years ago.
Many of the states were targeted regions. Cotter said California is an exporter of college students, and the large MSU alumni base in Chicago made Illinois a target for the branding.
“I think the MSU brand plays very well into it,” Cotter said. “There are a number of things MSU is known for. There are a tremendous number of assets this institution possesses. Not so long ago, 90 percent of our students came from Michigan.”
Dee McKay, the data resource analyst from the Office of Planning and Budgets , said there were 5,603 in-state students in the fall 2013 semester who were considered part of the entering class. That same year, there were 938 domestic out-of-state students and 1301 international students.
This has been an ongoing trend since 2009. That year, the number of in-state students who were considered part of the entering class in the fall was 5716. There were 822 domestic students that year and 671 international students.
Mason resident Alix Blair was accepted for the 2014 fall semester. She said she grew up within the Spartan atmosphere by attending basketball and football games, and during that time she fell in love with the campus.
“I think the biggest draw to people is the diversity and athletics,” she said. “Mason isn’t very diverse, so I’m excited to go out of my comfort zone and meet and interact with new people.”
