BYU Welcomes One of Its Largest, Highest-Achieving Freshman Classes
Contributed By the Church News
BYU officials released information about the university’s freshman class of 2016, which includes some of the brightest students in the world.
Article Highlights
- BYU’s freshman class 2016 includes some of the world’s brightest students.
- Over 13,000 students applied to BYU this year, its highest application number.
- More than 20 percent of applicants were in the top 5 percent of their class.
BYU officials released on August 31 information about the university’s freshman class of 2016, which includes some of the brightest students in the world.
For the second year in a row, more than 13,000 students applied to BYU—the highest application numbers in the history of the university—and the 7,200 students who were admitted make up one of the university’s most accomplished incoming classes to date.
The average ACT score for the entire class was 29.2 (54 had a perfect 36 score) and the average GPA was 3.85. Some 22 percent, more than a fifth of new students, came to BYU with perfect 4.0 GPAs.
In addition, 870 of the new students, or 16 percent, were ranked no. 1 in their graduating class. More than 20 percent were in the top 5 percent of their class.
Also, more than 70 percent of students played a high school sport, with nearly 30 percent of them serving as captain, and about 80 percent performed in musical groups, dance troupes, plays, or concerts. And more than 80 percent were employed during high school or the summer.
While these numbers are remarkable, they do not represent the requirements for admission—they are just a few highlights of the entire entering class. BYU considers a variety of factors in a holistic review of each applicant, taking into consideration academic achievement, extracurricular activities, leadership, other talents, and much more.
For the second year in a row, more than 13,000 students applied to BYU—the highest application numbers in the history of the university.
