The freshman class this fall at Missouri S&T promises to be one of the biggest, brightest and most diverse classes in the university’s 139-year history.

S&T’s freshman class includes five students who have perfect ACT or SAT scores. The class average ACT score is 27.7, among the upper 10 percent in the nation. The average high school grade point average is 3.78, and more than two-thirds of the new students have a GPA of 3.5 or higher.

The university is seeing a continuing trend of more women becoming interested in science and engineering fields. This, the third-largest freshman class in history, includes 268 women, an increase of 30 over last year. Twenty-four percent of the new freshman class is female. Among technological universities, S&T has one of the highest percentages of females enrolled in the nation.

“We are elated with the quality and the diversity of this freshman class,” says Chancellor John F. Carney III. “As the nation continues to face significant challenges dealing with the global economic climate, I have great confidence in our students’ work ethic and their ability to become the nation’s future leaders and innovators.”

Over the past three years, 90 percent of S&T graduates had firm career plans by commencement. This year’s graduates had an average starting salary of more than $57,000.

More than 1,100 first-year students will begin arriving on campus Saturday, Aug. 15, and are participating in Opening Week activities through Saturday, Aug. 22. Classes begin on Monday, Aug. 24.