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Meet the Class of 2020

September 30, 2016 By Käri Knutson
First-year students stand at attention for the singing of the national anthem at the start of the Chancellor's Convocation on Sept. 2.

First-year students stand at attention for the singing of the national anthem at the start of the Chancellor’s Convocation on Sept. 2. Photo: Jeff Miller

This fall, the University of Wisconsin–Madison welcomed 6,430 newly enrolled freshmen, up from 6,270 last year.  Of those students, 3,671 come from Wisconsin, up from 3,617 last year.

The Board of Regents lifted a nonresident undergraduate enrollment cap last year (with Wisconsin and Minnesota students both counted as in-state due to tuition reciprocity) of no more than 27.5 percent based on a three-year rolling average. UW–Madison committed to enrolling at least 3,600 Wisconsin students annually as part of the agreement.

The freshman class has 645 students from Minnesota, up from 611 last year.

African-American, Hispanic/Latino, American Indian and southeast Asian-American students make up 11.2 percent of the 2016 freshman class, up from 10 percent last year. The new class includes 16.7 percent first-generation college students, up from 15.4 percent last year.

The campus welcomed 1,091 transfer students, compared to 1,269 last fall.

“As Wisconsin’s flagship university, we are committed to welcoming a class that both grows in diversity and maintains a strong representation of our state’s students,” says Steve Hahn, vice provost for enrollment management.

Total enrollment for fall 2016 at UW–Madison is 43,338 in 2016, down slightly from 43,389 last year.  Undergraduate enrollment is 29,536, also down slightly from 29,580 in 2015.