The Class of 2017 is a unique group of individuals. In total, 27 countries are represented by these first-year students. The foreign countries that sent the most students to UHa this year are Saudi Arabia, China, Korea and Kuwait, but there are also freshmen from Denmark, Vietnam and Nigeria.
“We’re a diverse place, made up of many different people,” stated President Walter Harrison. “We come to this place from many different backgrounds.”
Within the United States, there are several students from Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. A remarkable 35 states are represented in this class, including Hawaii. As usual, most of them are from Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts, but an extraordinary 21 students came from California.
When asked why he came here, one freshman from California said his high school academic advisor recommended the University of Hartford.
Typically most students who come to UHa from a long distance are enrolled in the Hartt School. This year, however, less than 50 percent of the incoming class are entering the Hartt School.
The most popular majors among the Class of 2017 are biology, engineering, architecture, physical therapy and psychology.
Matching the university’s gender ratio as a whole, the incoming class is evenly split between males and females. About 50.7 percent of the freshmen are males.
Among the 1,500 new students are 35 Hartford Scholars. These are Hartford residents who graduated from Hartford public high schools and received half-tuition scholarships to the University of Hartford.
“We have students from all over the world and just around the corner,” remarked Richard Zeiser, Dean of Admissions.
After their convocation on Saturday, Aug. 31, the freshmen were led to the GSU lawn to form an “H” to signify the beginning of their college careers at the University of Hartford. President Harrison said at Convocation that the T-shirts the first-years wore on Saturday symbolized their common bond as members of the Hartford community.
Harrison noted, “Our success comes from learning to recognize and celebrate our differences and embracing what makes us similar – it begins with the University of Hartford and ends with our common humanity.”