Kent State’s freshman class is its smartest ever, according to an academic profile released Tuesday.

The incoming class, the second-largest in university history, has an average high school GPA of 3.27, and 70 percent had a GPA of 3.0 or better. In addition, the class’s average ACT score was 22.60, which is 0.8 points higher than the state average and 1.5 points higher than the national average, according to 2012’s ACT profile report for Ohio.

“This is an exciting time for these students to be beginning their journey at Kent State,” said Eric Mansfield, executive director of University Media Relations. “This class represents some of the best of the best locally, regionally and nationally, and their choice of Kent State is a strong testimonial to the quality education that they will be earning.”

Allen Qian, sophomore integrated life sciences major, said he believes these statistics will help Kent State in the future, and the university is moving in the right direction.

“It is helpful to have a good freshman class to start a legacy,” Qian said. “You have to start somewhere, and we are starting with the freshman class.”

Alex Arnold, sophomore computer science major, compared the growth of the university to the new improvements happening in the city.

“It’s wonderful to see a city with growth and Kent State University growing with it,” Arnold said.

Qian said he will check back in four years to verify whether or not his class has really been the smartest.

“You can’t just say you are the smartest class,” Qian said. “There has to be proof.”

Contact Audrey Fletcher at [email protected].