Nearly 4,000 first-year students arriving at Miami University today

More than 3,800 first-year students are arriving at Miami University’s main Oxford campus today, a class that officials describe as one of the most impressive and diverse freshmen classes ever.

They will be greeted by armies of Miami staffers and volunteers as they moved into dorms across the campus and then say goodbyes — often emotional ones — to their parents and other family members seeing them off.

The incoming class was selected from among the largest applicant pool — 29,771 — in Miami’s history, according to school officials.

And it's a first for Miami's new President Gregory Crawford, who moved to campus in July and who has already made himself known to many students and staffers by his habit of biking around campus.

“This is an incredibly exciting time to be at Miami and to welcome such a talented group of new students,” Crawford said. “Imagine the potential for positive impact these students will have on Miami and on the global communities where they will eventually work, live, and lead.”

Miami University and its regional campuses in Middletown and Hamilton are Butler County’s largest employer.

The academic quality of the incoming class has continued to increase, with 37 percent of the incoming students scoring a 30 or higher on the ACT.

The average ACT (28.5) and GPA (3.77) are the highest in Miami’s history. The class is also the most diverse yet at 15.5 percent, an increase from 13.7 percent last year,” said Miami officials.

International students comprise another 7.7 percent of the class; 15 percent of the incoming students are the first in their family to attend college. Members of the class of 2020 hail from 45 states, the District of Columbia, and 35 countries across the globe.

“We could not be more impressed with the class of 2020. They applied in record numbers, and ultimately, those arriving on our campus this fall are among the nation’s brightest and best,” said Susan Schaurer, assistant vice president for enrollment management and director of admission.

Schaurer said that Miami’s ability to attract students of this caliber from Ohio, across the U.S. and around the globe illustrates the demand for a Miami degree is at an all-time high.

“Miami is increasingly recognized by prospective students as a Public Ivy whose alumni are consistently recruited by the nation’s top employers and graduate and professional school programs,” she said.

In June Money magazine listed the school among the top 10 in the nation for producing chief executive officers of Fortune 500 companies.

Miami earned the third spot nationally with four CEOs and was the only one of the 10 universities ranked to have two women alumni now holding such top corporate leadership jobs.

Classes start Monday and until then there are dozens of welcoming events, both on campus and in the city of Oxford, designed to welcome back upperclassmen and new arrivals.