Mississippi State University’s 2013-2014 freshman class is the largest and the most academically prepared class the school has ever had, according to MSU President Mark Keenum. 
Keenum said first-time freshman enrollment at the university has reached 3,156, an increase of nine percent over last year’s number of 2,894. Overall enrollment at MSU remained stable. It exceeded 20,000 and currently stands at 20,161. The university also obtained its highest average ACT score ever of 23.94 for entering freshmen.
Phillip Bonfanti, executive director of enrollment, said in order to calculate the academic standing of a group, Tim Chamblee, MSU’s director of institutional research, averages the ACT scores of that group. He also counts the number of scholarship-eligible students, the group’s average GPA and its number of national merits.
“Generally, when you hear a university say that a class is the most academically prepared, they’re looking at one main statistic, and that is the average ACT of that class. The average this year was a 23.9. This is the highest average Mississippi State has ever had for a freshman class,” Bonfanti said.
Tim Chamblee said the university awarded a record number of scholarships during the 2013-2014 school year. He said about 32 percent of newly-enrolled freshmen received a scholarship.
“This year’s freshman class has been statistically very impressive. We awarded a very large number of scholarships this year. In fact, about 32 percent of entering freshmen were eligible and received scholarships,” Chamblee said.
According to Bonfanti, the university has had more scholarship-eligible students and double the amount of national merits this year than last year. Bonfanti said national merit students are sought after by universities because of their academic success and diligence. 
“We doubled the amount of national merit students this year. The national merit is a recognition that is external to Mississippi State. Students are selected to be national merit semi-finalist in a nationwide competition, and then some are selected to be finalists. This competition is hosted by the National Merit Corporation,” Bonfanti said. “Last year we had 23, and this year we have 46 enrolled.” 
Bonfanti said he believes this year’s enrollment status will reflect on the university and it will send out a message to future students and their parents.
“We grew by 266 freshman students this year, in state and out of state. Not only did we become larger, but also smarter. That alone sends a positive message to future parents and students about the type of institution we are,” Bonfanti said. “It takes three major aspects to be an excellent university. Good faculty, good resources and good students.”
Mississippi State University President Mark Keenum said the university’s growth is due to a team effort from all eight of MSU’s colleges. Keenum said he believes the upward path of freshman class enrollment reflects the confidence that students and parents have that MSU can prepare them for the future.
“This increase continues a growth trend that began in 2006, when freshmen enrollment was just 1,911.  This is very much a team effort across the board, with growth coming in all eight of our colleges. We have a network of recruiters who spend a lot of time in the schools, talking to students, parents, administrators and guidance counselors,” Keenum said.
Keenum said he enjoys traveling to different high schools to spread the word about all that MSU has to offer.
“I also enjoy traveling to high schools all across the state and region to talk about what we have to offer at Mississippi State and reinforcing the message our recruiters are sharing with the best and brightest students in schools large and small. The result is that Mississippi State University continues to be the university of choice for high school seniors in our state, and we are attracting more and more top students from across our region,” Keenum said.