Montclair State University\u2019s enrollment for fall 2014 has surpassed 20,000, setting a record high for the 106-year-old university. The total enrollment of 20,022 students includes 15,885 undergraduate and 4,137 graduate students. This fall, there are 2,908 entering freshmen, 1,536 new transfer students and 1,176 new graduate students. The current enrollment figures reflect a six percent increase in both Hispanic and African American students. <\/p>\n
\u201cWith more than 20,000 students, Montclair State remains New Jersey\u2019s second largest university,\u201d says Montclair State University President Susan A. Cole. \u201cThis fall, our students have come from every county in New Jersey, from 16 states and from many foreign countries. We are proud to have attracted such a very strong, highly diverse and talented class of students this year.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Cole, the record-breaking enrollment comes at a time of exceptional growth for the University. The entering students will be among the first to learn and study in the University\u2019s new 107,500-square-foot, state-of-the-art Center for Environmental and Life Sciences and the new 143-000-square-foot School of Business building. In the final stages of construction, these two cutting-edge academic facilities are slated to open in fall 2015. <\/p>\n
The newly enrolled students will also be able to take advantage of the more than 300 majors, minors concentrations and certificate programs \u2013 including a new bachelor\u2019s degree program in journalism \u2013 offered by the University\u2019s six colleges and schools.<\/p>\n
Cole noted that the entering freshmen are the last students the University required to submit SAT or ACT test scores with their applications. This fall, in becoming the first New Jersey public university to make the submission of standardized test scores optional, Montclair State joins more than 800 of the nation\u2019s leading colleges and universities who have adopted test-optional policies. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe are certain that the most powerful predictor of college success is a student\u2019s performance in high school, and in particular the high school GPA and the rigor of the courses taken,\u201d says Cole. \u201cThe new admissions protocol will better support our mission of serving a talented student population that reflects the full socio-economic and ethnic diversity of New Jersey.\u201d<\/p>\n