Kent State freshmen continue to uphold above-average ACT scores

In this March 12, 1999 file photograph, a student fills in his answer to the practice test question for a standardized test, in Roswell, Georgia. (Anitta C. Charlson/Atlanta Journal-Constitution/MCT)

Another record year for KSU incoming freshman enrollment means another year of above average ACT composite scores for KSU freshman.

At the Sept. 14 faculty senate meeting President Beverly Warren stated this year has been “another record year for freshman enrollment at about 4300. It’s not a huge enrollment, but it is the fifth consecutive year that we’ve seen increased enrollment.”

She said, “the GPA and ACT scores, in terms of the quality of this incoming freshman class, also hit record highs.”

The KSU Undergraduate Admissions Office stated that the mean ACT score for the fall 2015 class of incoming freshman was a 23. The fall 2014 incoming freshman class also had a mean ACT score of 23.

According to the ACT’s 2015 National and State Scores, Ohio’s state composite ACT average is a 22. This means that KSU ranks higher than the Ohio state average and higher than schools such as The University of Akron, which has a mean ACT score of 22.3.

Although KSU ranks above the state average, it still falls behind schools such as The Ohio State University, which has a composite score of 28.9 and The University of Cincinnati, which has a composite score of 25.7, as stated by bizjournals.com.

Nancy Dellavecchia, the KSU Director of Admissions, said, “The mean ACT score varies because of the change in applications each year. We have seen more applications from students with stronger academic credentials in the past couple of years.”

The rising number of applications and larger class sizes also help to increase this score. Dellavecchia also said, “admission to the Kent campus is selective and competitive. With a larger number of well qualified applications, we have been able to be more selective with our decisions for the Kent campus.”

Being more selective means that the KSU freshman composite ACT score will likely increase in the future.

“We want students to be successful and earn their college degree in a timely manner,” said Dellavecchia. “We plan to continue to attract and enroll students who are college-ready and have strong academic credentials.”

Contact Megan Hermensky at [email protected].