EAST LANSING, Mich. — According to a preliminary enrollment report, Michigan State University’s student enrollment for the 2009-10 academic year is expected to be approximately 47,100.

That figure, presented to the MSU Board of Trustees at its Sept. 11 meeting, is an increase of 450 students over last year’s enrollment figure. Last year’s official enrollment figure was 46,648.

“This demonstrates,” said MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon, “the value that students and their families place on a globally competitive education at MSU and the strength of our financial aid program.”

While increases or decreases are managed in any given year, Simon said, long-term stability at approximately 46,600 students served through the East Lansing campus is important to maintain the appropriate balance across academic programs, faculty and staff numbers, support functions and facilities.

New undergraduates reflect an effort to stabilize enrollment within that category at no more than 7,050 to 7,200.

The official count of enrolled students will occur on Sept. 28, one-quarter through the fall semester.

Here are some additional preliminary enrollment statistics.

• MSU received a total of 25,392 applications this year, resulting in a first-time fall class of approximately 7,215 students.
  
• Total undergraduate class is estimated at 36,400, a slight decrease from last year.
  
• New graduate and graduate professional enrollment increased by 154 students, largely attributable to the new College of Osteopathic Medicine’s presence in Southeast Michigan.
  
• Grade point averages and test scores for this year’s entering class were similar to last year’s. The high school grade point average 25th to 75th percentile range is 3.4 to 3.8. The ACT 25th to 75th percentile range is 23 to 27.
  
• Within the entering class, enrollment of students of color totaled 19.6 percent, a five-year high.

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Michigan State University has been advancing knowledge and transforming lives through innovative teaching, research and outreach for more than 150 years. MSU is known internationally as a major public university with global reach and extraordinary impact. Its 17 degree-granting colleges attract scholars worldwide who are interested in combining education with practical problem solving.