NCA&T enrolls 12,142 students for Fall 2018, freshman average GPA is 3.61

Students prepare to take new student oath at NCA&T in August 2018

For the third consecutive year, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University has enrolled its largest student body in university history, as well as what is likely its most academically accomplished.

On the strength of an entering class of 2,201 first-year students, North Carolina A&T’s student body has expanded to 12,142 – a 2.2 percent increase over last year’s enrollment. The entering class for Fall 2018 has an average high school GPA of 3.61, average SAT score of 1040 and ACT score of 20.

Back in Fall 2017, NCA&T enrolled 11,877 students. It had 2,309 new freshmen, with an average GPA of 3.51, average SAT score of 1,023 and average ACT of 20.

Counting the increase in headcount this fall of nearly 300, N.C. A&T has now added close to 1,600 students over the past five years, a 15 percent expansion of its student body. That includes growth at nearly every student level and racial/ethnic demographic group. N.C. A&T is expected to remain the nation’s largest, four-year historically black university for the fifth consecutive year.

“We are pleased with the continued, strategic growth of Aggie family,” said Chancellor Harold L. Martin Sr. “It is a testament to the great work our faculty and staff do to turn outstanding students into exceptional graduates who are prepared to be leaders in a global, competitive marketplace.”

The intentional, steady growth in enrollment is the direct result of a strategic plan put in place in 2011 that envisioned a bold future for A&T by 2020, including a total enrollment of 13,500 and 10,000 undergraduate students. A&T surpassed the latter goal last year, and undergraduate enrollment this fall exceeds 10,600.

Refreshed over the past year, the university’s new strategic plan, A&T Preeminence: Taking the Momentum to 2023, projects a student body of 14,000 by its conclusion. The plan’s key performance indicators also include even more emphasis placed on student success, affordability, diversity and recognition.

This fall’s new enrollment report comes on the heels of new rankings from Money magazine, which named A&T North Carolina’s most affordable university and ranked its alumni third in the University of North Carolina system in early career earnings.

The university is also making preparations to open its new $90 million Student Center this month while breaking ground on a new residence hall and the $90-million Engineering Research and Innovation Complex later this fall.