TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The University of Alabama continues to attract some of the nation’s most talented students, ranking 11th among the nation’s 629 public universities in the enrollment of National Merit Scholars for 2008-2009 and 28th among the more than 2,400 public and private universities nationwide. UA’s ranking is up from last year when the University ranked 12th among public universities and 30th overall.
The rankings are based on the National Merit Scholarship Corp.’s newly released 2007-2008 annual report.
UA enrolled 83 National Merit Scholars in the fall 2008 freshman class. The number represents well over half of the 140 National Merit Scholars who enrolled at all colleges and universities in the state of Alabama last fall.
“This ranking once again underscores The University of Alabama’s ability to attract the best students in the nation,” said UA President Robert E. Witt. “Our freshman class this year includes more than 1,000 students who had a 4.0 or higher grade point average in high school, and one in five freshmen enrolled in Honors College. Clearly, we are growing with quality at The University of Alabama.”
More than 325 National Merit Scholars are currently enrolled at UA. In addition to Alabama, these students hail from California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin.
UA ranked second among public universities in the SEC in enrollment of National Merit Scholars:
| National Merit Scholar Enrollment Rankings | |
|---|---|
| University of Florida | 166 |
| University of Alabama | 83 |
| University of Georgia | 54 |
| University of Arkansas | 46 |
| University of South Carolina | 40 |
| University of Kentucky | 34 |
| Louisiana State University | 32 |
| Auburn University | 31 |
| University of Mississippi | 23 |
| Mississippi State University | 22 |
| University of Tennessee | 21 |
Contact
Cathy Andreen, Director of Media Relations, 205/348-8322, candreen@ur.ua.edu