Smiles – maybe a little nervous – but smiles nevertheless – graced the faces of nearly 1,500 new students as they moved onto The University of Scranton campus and prepared for the fall semester classes that began Aug. 28.
Forty-two members of The University of Scranton’s Class of 2027 arrived early to participate in the 20th anniversary year of FIRST (Freshmen Involved in Reflective Service Together), a reflective service immersion program at Scranton. FIRST’s student founder, Clare (Strockbine) Acosta ’04 returned to speak about the program to incoming students.
Incoming students also arrived early to participate in the Royals of Color Kickoff (ROCK) program, which invites new students of color to campus the Thursday prior to first-year Move-in to connect with peers, upper-division mentors and campus and local resources. New friendships and the support of a mentor mean a lot to students in their first days away from home. First-year students tell Jose F. Sanchez, assistant director at the University’s Cultural Centers with the direct oversight of the Multicultural Center, that the Royals of Color Kickoff (ROCK) provides these and gives students “a sense of belonging and community.” Nearly 50 mentors and students were involved in this year’s ROCK program, according to Sanchez.
Forty-two members of the Class of 2027 also arrived early to participate in the 20th anniversary year of FIRST, Freshmen Involved in Reflective Service Together, a reflective service immersion program at Scranton. FIRST’s student founder, Clare (Strockbine) Acosta ’04 returned to speak about the program to incoming students. Class of 2027 FIRST participants volunteered at the Belleview Center, Neighborworks and Friends of the Poor.
Get to Know the Class of 2027
* Incoming University students include more than 1,035 members of its undergraduate class of 2027, which is one of the largest in Scranton’s history, in addition to nearly 60 transfer students and more than 350 graduate students, both on-campus and online.
* The University’s undergraduate class of 2027 was selected from a pool of 9,867 applicants.
* Nearly 23 percent of incoming students identify as a person of color. More than 35 percent of the incoming class identify as first generation college students.
* The most common majors chosen by members of the incoming class are biology, nursing, kinesiology, business administration and occupational therapy.
* The class of 2027 represents more than 450 high schools and represents 15 states, including California, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Texas and Virginia. More than 25 percent of the class is from Northeast Pennsylvania.
* The class has an average SAT score of 1,237.
* The incoming class includes 85 legacy children whose parents are University of Scranton alumni.
