Butler University will welcome a record first-year class of 1,272 students on move-in day, Saturday, August 20. Classes begin on Wednesday, August 24.

This year, 12,949 prospective students applied to Butler, a 30.2 percent increase compared with 2015.

Butler’s Class of 2020 continues the University’s track record of attracting high-quality, academically prepared students. Here’s a look at some numbers.

-46 Valedictorians and 11 Salutatorians

-2 National Merit Finalists

-21 Lilly Scholars

-45 21st Century Scholars

-292 in the top 10 percent of their high school graduating class

-GPA (average): 3.8

-ACT (middle 50 percent) 25–30

-SAT (middle 50 percent) 1600–1840

The Class of 2020 comes from 37 states and five countries. Forty-three percent are from Indiana, and 57 percent are from out of state. The number of out-of-state students increased by 28 percent compared with 2015, with 205 percent growth in students from the Northeast and 108 percent growth in students from the South.

Nearly 16 percent of the class are U.S. students of color or international citizens.

 

The most popular majors this year are Pre-Pharmacy (135), Exploratory Studies (109), and Biology and Exploratory Business (both with 81).

Individual student achievements include:

Camille Arnett (Granger, Indiana), a four-time winner of National Novel Writing Month (write a 50,000-word novel in a month).

Julia Bluhm (Waterville, Maine), who successfully petitioned to have Seventeen Magazine stop digitally altering their models (as an eighth-grader), and afterwards received national media attention.

Josh Ford (Newburgh, Indiana), who actively participates in and promotes the Make-a-Wish Foundation. He was a recipient of a wish as a seventh-grader and has been a spokesperson for the organization since.

In addition, members of the first-year class have:

-Started a service/support group (In The Dark) to help counsel athletes going through post-concussion syndrome.

–Been published by The Los Angeles Times.

–Organized a fundraiser for a classmate that raised over $10,000 for a liver transplant.

-Played violin with an international orchestra at Carnegie Hall.

The University will also welcome 90 new transfer students to campus this fall.

 

Media contact:
Marc Allan
mallan@butler.edu
317-940-9822