New College sets first-year enrollment record

SARASOTA — New College of Florida, the liberal arts honors college of the State University System of Florida, opened its latest academic year with a record high 284 new students.

The freshmen class, called first-year students, boosts total enrollment at New College to more than 850 students, according to a release. The tally includes 44 transfer students.

New College's admissions staff, the release states, had early indications a large incoming class was on the way, courtesy of a college staple. “I figured when we had to have three pizza places deliver for our admitted student event in March that we were in for a remarkable year,” Enrollment Director Mitch Finer says in a statement. “We are truly excited to welcome such a talented and diverse group of students.”

Nearly one in four of the new students at New College are from states other than Florida, the school says, and eight are from foreign countries. That includes the four members of the inaugural class of New College's Daughters for Life Scholars, women from the Middle East attending on full scholarships.

“We have a stellar entering class,” says Kathleen Killion, dean of enrollment services and information technology, in the release. “The average high school GPA for our first-year students is over 4.0, perhaps the highest in the college's history.”

That typical GPA reflects how most New College students receive bonuses from their high schools for taking Advanced Placement courses. U.S. News & World Report, Forbes and The Princeton Review consistently rank New College among the top public liberal arts colleges in America. The school, with a 144-acre campus near the Sarasota Bradenton International Airport, was affiliated with the University of South Florida for 25 years until it became an independent institution in 2004.