Welcoming new Dragons is one of the most highly anticipated fall happenings for the Drexel University community, year in and year out. This year was no exception, even though we weren’t able to welcome them physically on campus.
So, in order for everyone to get to know these members of the Class of 2024 and 2025, DrexelNow crunched the numbers with the help of Enrollment Management and Student Success to provide some important facts and figures on these Dragons, including their demographics, diversity and demonstrated scholarship.
Firstly, Drexel welcomed more than 2,350 first-year students this term.
Next, let’s talk about the demographics of our new 2020 Dragons. This class is comprised of:
· 48.6 percent female students
· 14.3 percent underrepresented students of color
· 6.9 percent international students
· 26 percent first-generation college students
By ethnicity, this class consists of those who self-identify as: 48.2 percent white or Caucasian; 23.2 percent Asian; 8.1 percent Hispanic; 6.9 percent International; 6.1 percent Black or African American; 3.8 percent identify with two or more races; 0.2 percent American Indian or Alaskan native; and 3.5 percent did not report.
Evelyn Thimba, senior vice president of Enrollment Management, said that the fact that no one ethnicity exceeds 50 percent showcases the University’s growing diversity.
“Our class continues to diversify and more closely mirror the changing demographics of the country,” she said.
As far as where these students are coming to Drexel from, a whopping 39.4 percent hail from right here in the Philadelphia area.
All-in-all, though, this incoming class calls 40 different states and 53 countries home (that is, until they arrive on campus, of course). The top five states our new Dragons hail from are Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Maryland and California. The six international countries that boast the most new Drexel students are India, Vietnam, Nigeria, China, Kazakhstan and Pakistan (the last two countries tied for fifth place).
No matter where they hail from, this class has already demonstrated its smarts in high school. The average high school GPA for these students was 3.81, which is up from 3.76 in 2019 and 3.71 in 2018. The average media SAT score was 1290, which is exactly the same as last year and up 10 points from 2018.
Lastly, it is worth mentioning that 27.8 percent of this year’s incoming class of Dragons are Pell Grant-eligible, meaning that they display exceptional financial need in their degree path.
Whatever their needs, and whatever their path, one thing is for certain about this entire first-year class we had the pleasure of welcoming to the University this term: they are 100 percent Dragons!