BUIES CREEK, North Carolina — Campbell University will open its first day of classes of the 2016-17 academic year Wednesday, Aug. 24, with 1,156 new students. Collectively, they are the strongest incoming class academically in the university’s 129-year history.
In addition, 78 of the new students will be part of the inaugural class of Campbell’s School of Engineering, which will become only the second engineering school at a private university in North Carolina when it officially opens Aug. 24. Including current students, the engineering school’s first class will enroll 96.
“It’s a very special fall at Campbell University,” said Dr. Britt J. Davis, vice president for university advancement and senior advisor to the president. “Not only are we welcoming our first class of engineering students, we’re also welcoming the strongest entering class academically in the history of Campbell University. The class of 2020 has raised the bar for us in the profile of students coming to Campbell to study in the health sciences, engineering, business, education, fine arts, and the liberal arts and sciences.”
The entering cohort is comprised of 898 first-year students and 258 transfer students. They have a cumulative average GPA of 3.9 and averaged 1,030 on the two-part SAT, an increase of 22 points from the previous year. Their average on the three-part SAT improved from 1490 to 1510, and their average ACT score increased from 21.5 in 2015 to 22.5 this year. These are the highest averages of test scores for an incoming cohort at Campbell ever.
The new students are also one of the largest incoming groups in Campbell’s history. It is the fifth year in a row that Campbell has welcomed a class of at least 1,000 new students.
“I am proud of the academic excellence our new students bring with them to Campbell,” said Jason Hall, assistant vice president for admissions. “The Admissions team has worked hard to secure a class of well-rounded young adults who will live, learn and enjoy the experience our university will provide.”
Of the new students, 78 percent are from North Carolina and 22 percent from out of state. Fifty-seven percent are female, and over 41 percent identify as a minority group.
What they’re majoring in
Nearly half of the new students, or 556, have declared their intent to major in a pre-professional or health-related field. That includes 135 in pre-pharmacy, 104 in exercise science, 101 in pre-nursing, and 185 in biology, including 157 on the pre-professional biology track, which prepares students for professional studies in medicine, physician assistant, dentistry, physical therapy, veterinary medicine, and optometry.
Eighty-two plan to be in one of the eight pre-law programs offered through the Arts & Sciences and Business schools.
Another 178 students have declared an intent to major in a business field, including 40 students in the trust and wealth management program — the only one of its kind in the nation — and 30 in the PGA pro golf management program — one of only 19 in the nation. Six new students plan to be part of the new finance degree program.
Other popular areas of studies are in history, criminal justice, and political science (146); the liberal arts, fine arts, and sciences (105); and professional education, psychology, and social work (64).
In addition to Campbell welcoming its first engineering students, Campbell’s inaugural nursing class of 46 students will officially start Aug. 24. The Catherine W. Wood School of Nursing held its first pre-nursing seminar in August 2014, but students can only apply to be in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program during their sophomore years and after they have completed program prerequisites.
Since Campbell started offering the pre-nursing option to prospective students in 2014, it has been one of the most popular area of studies. In addition to the 101 pre-nursing students this year, there were 121 pre-nursing students in 2015. Campbell enrolled 85 students in its first pre-nursing seminar in 2014.