Providence, R.I.--Approximately 955 freshmen have joined the Providence College community as the 2009-10 academic year gets under way.

The Class of 2013--including 100 first-generation college students--represents continued academic excellence and extracurricular involvement.

Among the academic achievements, the class carries an average grade point average (GPA) of 3.39 on a 4.0 scale. Approximately 38 percent of the freshmen graduated from high school in the top 10 percent of their class, and 64 percent fell within the top 20 percent.

The class includes 23 valedictorians and 14 salutatorians, up from last year's totals of 18 and 11, respectively. There are 10 National Merit finalists, semi-finalists, and commended students, and 435 were members of the National Honor Society.

The average SAT scores remain consistent with previous years' freshman classes. The mean score was 579 for the critical reading portion of the test, 583 for the math section, and 589 for the writing portion.

Among declared students, the most popular majors are biology, management, psychology, special/elementary education, marketing, political science, and accountancy.

In terms of extracurricular activity, 214 participated in student government (27 were class presidents), 635 played sports (235 were captains), 135 were on newspaper, radio, and yearbook staffs, and 723 took part in community service projects.

Some geographic and ethnic facts about the arriving class include:

• 625 members are from New England: 297 from Massachusetts, 175 from Connecticut, 111 from Rhode Island, and the remaining 42 from New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine.
• There are 227 students from New York and New Jersey, 36 students from Mid-Atlantic states, and 31 from the Mid-West.
• 10.4 percent of the class is of African-American, Hispanic, Asian, or Native American (AHANA) descent, which is up from 8 percent last year.
• Students of color represent 13.3 percent of the incoming freshmen, which is up from 12.5 percent last year.

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