The 2015 fall semester will be here soon and that means a new convocation of Eagles. Florida Gulf Coast University’s class of 2019 is ready to take flight as admissions decisions began in September.

FGCU plans to become more competitive as each year goes on. To do so, admission has been made more strict as the GPA and SAT/ACT desired profiles for applicants have been raised to a 3.0 GPA and a 1450 overall SAT and 21 ACT score. Priority will be given to applicants with these statistics, and on a space availability basis to those who do not.

Marc Laviolette, director of admissions, said that, “Our goal for fall semester is 2,400 freshmen.”

In response to this goal, Cal Majure, coordinator of Undergraduate Relations, is excited to release FGCU’s plan for an eight-week calling campaign for prospective admitted students.

“Florida Gulf Coast is no longer a safety school,” Majure said. “These prospective students have more options available as they are a much more driven and focused population than years past. Because of that, we have changed our approach to be as friendly and accommodating as can be. We can bridge the gap until orientation by providing insight from our student representatives to potential incoming freshmen of why they love FGCU.”

Those are not the only exciting things happening for the class of 2019. Jessica Scanlon, Panhellenic membership director, is expecting 500 potential new members and recruitment will not be capped as it has been in the past. In addition, 40 new member counselors, otherwise known as Rho Gammas, will be accepted.

“This year the Panhellenic community will experience a lot of growth between the new organization and all the women we believe will register for recruitment,” Scanlon said.  “I cannot be more excited.”

Brent Grunig, assistant director for Fraternity and Sorority Life, is expecting an increase in fraternity sizes as well.

“We do expect interest in our seven men’s organizations within this council to increase as fall 2014 had approximately 300 men register with six groups.” Grunig said.  “We’re excited to see more men sign up in fall 2015 as well as the exciting new changes we will be adding to the recruitment process.”

A new fraternity for the National Panhellenic Council, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity has been approved on campus so the organization will begin that process in the fall semester.

The class of 2019 will be larger and have higher academic standards than any other class at FGCU, and because of that, there will be more chances for campus involvement than ever before. There are 251 registered student organizations on campus with 17 being added this semester, including I Am That Girl, a club for the empowerment of women. Students Interested in Student Affairs, Health Occupations Students of America, and the Computer Science Club are back in action.

As stated by student assistant Tori Hopkins, “The Office of Student Involvement prides itself in giving students the opportunity to get involved and encourages this incoming class to do so as it has proven to help students excel in their classes.”

There is a surplus of opportunities available for this bright freshman class and much anticipation for the fall semester to commence.