Cal Poly Pomona will welcome more than 7,700 incoming first-time and transfer students this fall, the largest class in the university’s 80-year history.
The increase comes as the campus, which is ranked No. 47 on Money Magazine’s list of “The 50 Best Colleges in the U.S.” for quality and affordability, ushers in its inaugural semester on Thursday, Aug. 23.
The number of applications received for fall 2018-19 totaled 36,642 for first-year students, a rise of nearly 5 percent from 2017-18. The number of transfer students applying also increased slightly, with applications totaling 15,754 for 2018-19, compared to 15,443 in 2017-18.
Here are seven facts about the incoming Broncos:
1. The colleges of Engineering, Business Administration, and Letters, Arts & Social Sciences are the most popular with incoming students. Of the new transfer students, 1,085 plan to study business and 1,074 will pursue degrees in the College of Letters, Arts & Social Sciences (CLASS). For incoming first-year students, 869 selected engineering and 759 chose CLASS.
2. Although national trends point to a gender gap at colleges and universities where more women than men are pursuing higher education, Cal Poly Pomona’s incoming class is 51.5 percent male.
3. The number of first-generation college students is 2,339 for first-year and 3,336 for transfers.
4. A total of 801 California high schools are represented.
5. Cal Poly Pomona has an international flair with more than 45 countries represented, including China, Indonesia, Morocco, Germany, Nigeria, Kazakhstan and French Polynesia. The incoming class speaks 94 languages other than English.
6. An overwhelming majority of Cal Poly Pomona students are Californians. Of the incoming first-year students, 175 are from out of state. For transfer students, that number is 241.
7. A total of 34 of the female first-year students have something in common: the name Samantha. For female transfer students, the most common name is Jessica with 29. The name Daniel is the most popular among male first-year students at 35. David is the name of 26 incoming male transfer students.