University of Portland welcomes the Class of 2022, second-largest class in school history, on Move-In Day, August 23 | University of Portland

University of Portland welcomes the Class of 2022, second-largest class in school history, on Move-In Day, August 23

Admissions

August 23, 2018

The University of Portland welcomes the Class of 2022 this week as first-year students arrive on campus and move into residence halls on Thursday, August 23. At approximately 1,000 students, the new freshman class is one of the top three largest classes in University history.

Beginning at 8 a.m. on Thursday, Move-In Day is one of the most exciting and busiest times on the UP campus, as the college journey begins for real for new students. Welcome signs and purple decorations greet them and their parents as they arrive on campus, carrying suitcases, baskets, stuffed animals, and more comforts of home to their dorm rooms. Returning students get in on the fun, too, with a campus-wide competition to see which of the nine residence halls can host the most colorful decorations and fun activities to welcome their new residents.  

For the Class of 2022, the University Admissions office received more than 10,667 completed applications. Over 12,000 prospective students and their families visited campus this past year  “We continue to see more and more visits to campus each year,” said Jason McDonald, Dean of Admissions. “Students have become much more thoughtful and deliberate in how they make their college decisions.”

As in past years, the UP Class of 2022 is highly academically accomplished, with an approximate average score in the new SAT of 1242 and an average high school GPA of 3.65.

Diverse in geography, 75 percent of the Class of 2022 comes from out of state and nearly half of the class comes from the Pacific Northwest. The class is 60 percent female and 40 percent male.

It is also ethnically diverse, with 39 percent of the class identifying as minority—the second highest in UP history. The University of Portland has undertaken significant steps towards recruiting ethnically and culturally diverse students. Partner organizations include the Black United Fund in Portland, College Possible in Portland, College Horizons, the She-Can Foundation, and the Davis New Mexico Foundation. The University of Portland is one of six partners universities with the Davis New Mexico Foundation, which provides college scholarships covering the full cost of attendance for college-ready New Mexican students who will be the first in their families to earn a college degree. “Eight new Davis Scholarship recipients will be attending the University of Portland this year,” noted McDonald. “For the second year in a row, nearly a third of the total Davis Scholars are attending UP.”

Official enrollment figures will be confirmed two weeks into the academic year.

Orientation activities continue all weekend with an official welcome by University president Rev. Mark L. Poorman, C.S.C. on Friday morning, a Pilot Men’s Soccer game against Sacramento State University followed by a Pilot Women’s Soccer game against San Jose State University on Friday evening, and an Orientation Mass in the Chiles Center Arena on Saturday evening. The iconic Bell Tower candle light ceremony at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday evening concludes the Orientation weekend events.

The 2018-19 academic year will officially commence with classes on Monday, August 27.