Monday, Sept. 11, marked the first day of the fall quarter at the University of Denver. New, diverse classes of undergrad and graduate students started their studies on campus.

Undergraduate students

Students in orientation shirts walking around campusAcross the University of Denver, 47 states are represented in this year’s incoming class, the only exceptions being West Virginia, Alabama and Mississippi. The Class of 2027 is also made up of students from a total of 27 different countries. Most of the students required at least a daylong drive or a plane ticket to make it to campus; 72% are traveling from outside of Colorado and nearly two-thirds are from more than 500 miles away. Geographically, the class breaks down as follows:

  • 27.9% from Colorado
  • 16.4% from the West
  • 12.1% from the Southwest
  • 18.3% from the Midwest
  • 5.3% from the Southeast
  • 16.4% from the Northeast
  • 3.6% are international

In selecting this year’s class, counselors from the Office of Undergraduate Admission evaluated applications from more than 20,000 prospective students. The process takes several months as staff evaluates each applicant holistically to understand and appreciate their academic abilities and their many unique qualities.

The University of Denver continues to recruit a diverse class of students, with 28% identifying as a member of an ethnic group other than white. First-generation students make up 17% of the incoming class.

DU was an early adopter of the test-optional application process. Now in the fourth year of its policy, 62% of students applied without submitting test scores. Of those who did submit test results, the average ACT score was 30, while the average SAT score was 1,292. The class had an average high school GPA of 3.77.

Several students have also been awarded a prestigious scholarship, including three Boettcher Scholars, 22 Davis Scholars, and five Daniels Fund recipients.

In addition to the first-year students, 175 transfer students will begin at DU this fall. Approximately one-third of those students had previously applied to DU.

Students pose for a photo at Daniels Graduate Student orientationGraduate students

The Daniels College of Business is also welcoming about 250 new graduate students across four MBA programs, seven MS programs and 14 different certificates. The average student is 29 years old and has 7.5 years of work experience. Nearly half of incoming students (48%) identify as female.

About one in every five students is from a country outside of the United States. In all, Daniels graduate students hail from 26 different nations on five different continents, including Ghana, Paraguay, Vietnam, Kuwait, Uzbekistan, Norway and Burkina Faso.