This year, FGCU will welcome around 2,660 First Time in College students. While the enrollment data for Fall 2017 is still very preliminary, current FGCU students can expect to see many new faces this semester.
As a whole, there are now approximately 14, 723 students enrolled at FGCU in the undergraduate, graduate, and non-degree seeking programs. While this number is slightly down from the enrollment in Fall 2015, it is likely to increase as students enroll later on in the semester.
For enrollment this year, FGCU saw an increase in the number of freshman and First Time in College students.
FGCU received 13,849 applications for the First Time in College program alone. The number of applicants this year is greater than the entire FGCU enrollment for all programs in 2012.
Of these 13,849 First Time in College applications, around only 8,905 were accepted. Based on the preliminary data, this makes for an acceptance rate of 64.3 percent, which is 5.4 percent higher than the 2014 acceptance rate.  However, this acceptance rate is also likely to change as the data for this semester’s enrollment solidifies.
This semester, freshmen continued to raise the bar for admissions criteria. While the standards for freshman admission remain the same, those admitted to FGCU have ACT, SAT, and GPA scores well above the minimum requirement.
Over the course of two years, from 2016 to 2017, FGCU has experienced an upward trend in the standardized testing scores and GPAs of admitted students, making it a little more difficult every year for prospective students who apply only with the minimum to get into FGCU.
While freshmen compose approximately 18 percent of the student body this semester, it’s transfer students that hold the majority.
Comprising just over 25 percent of the study body, the number of transfers on campus has increased as FGCU climbs in the college rankings.
According to a report done by U.S. News earlier this year, FGCU ranked #31 in top public schools in the regional universities of the south category. By comparison, University of Central Florida ranked #93 in the same category, and University of South Florida ranked #83.
In just twenty years, FGCU has managed to muscle out universities that have been established for over sixty years.
Compared to FGCU’s enrollment when it first opened, the number of students now attending FGCU has increased drastically. According to the FGCU at 20 website, FGCU had just 3,000 students taking classes in 1999. The number of students at FGCU today is around five times that size.
With at least 2,660 new students joining FGCU, on campus resources like the library, the Center for Academic Achievement, and the Writing Center will only increase in demand as students new and old adjust to the fall semester.
To accommodate for the increased use of library study rooms, the library has made spatial changes over the summer that will give students even more places to hit the books.
On the west side of the library there were once cabinets filled with microfiche—films containing photographs of documents—but now those unused films have been moved to behind the circulation desk, where students can request access to them only when they are needed.
Librarians also moved hundreds of books out of the library west area this summer. Taking the place of these books are now additional computers for students to use.
“There are a lot more study spaces now,” FGCU librarian Sheila Allen said. “You’ll see a lot of empty space, especially on the third floor of library east, where students can study.”
The Center for Academic Achievement is now open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday for tutoring, supplemental instruction, and other resources students can use to make their adjustment to FGCU as smooth as possible.
The Writing Center will also be open Monday through Friday. Students can make appointments or walk-in, and will be able to meet with a consultant to discuss their specific needs related to anything with words.
While the start of any new semester is always a difficult transition, students can utilize on-campus resources to ensure they sail through classes this year.