More UofL students leap-frog into sophomore, junior year

Many students coming to the University of Louisville for the first time this fall won’t be known as freshmen because they’ve already earned enough credits to be classified as sophomores or juniors.

Of the 2,825 incoming students who have enrolled thus far, 149 are sophomores and another 22 are juniors. Executive director of admissions Jenny Sawyer said that’s a new record for UofL but she’s not surprised.

“For the past few years, more than half of our incoming students have college credit before they get here,” Sawyer said. “It’s a national trend and due, in part, to the success of high schools and universities working together to boost college readiness.”

Sawyer said 30 credit hours is a general guideline for sophomore status and the university’s early college programs and partnerships with schools in Bullitt, Oldham and Jefferson counties are having a positive impact.

University officials also reported that incoming students had an average ACT score of 25.5, the highest in the institution’s history and well above the national average of 21.

“There is no doubt we are attracting the most academically gifted students in our history,” said UofL President James Ramsey. “When we look at parameters such as ACT scores, high school grade point averages, early college credit and graduation rates, it’s obvious that we are on the right track.”

Here’s a snapshot of the 2015 incoming class:

·       55 percent have some college credit

·       149 will enter as sophomores

·       22 will enter as juniors

·       82 percent are Kentucky residents

·       37 percent are from Jefferson County

·       23 percent are students of color (slightly more than half of those are African American)

·       37 U.S. states and territories, other than Kentucky, are represented

First year students start moving into residence halls Aug.19 and classes begin the following Monday.