DU admitted 652 more freshmen for the 2011 autumn quarter than last year, making it the largest anticipated graduation class the university has ever had.

In 2011, DU admitted 7,164 students, up from the 6,683 students admitted in 2010, according to Emily Forbs, director of communication. From those admittances, 1,231 students enrolled.

“We strategically chose to admit a greater number of students this year because we anticipated that our yield would be down this year,” said Forbs. “However, more students ended up accepting DU’s offer of admission than anticipated, creating a bigger incoming class size.”

Forbs said that despite the higher number of admittances, the freshman still have higher academic qualifications than in previous years. The group had an average GPA of 3.74, average SAT of 1232 (out of 1600) and average ACT of 28.

“We were very pleased with the caliber of students who applied and were offered admission to DU,” said Forbs.

Another reason the class size is slightly bigger this year is the decreasing amount of “melting” students. Melting students deposit in the spring, but then drop out over the summer, Forbs said.

There has also been greater interest in Daniel’s College of Business (DCB). There was a 10 percent increase this year in prospective business majors, according to Daniel Garza, the senior director of the office of undergraduate programs. Approximately 110 students were admitted directly to DCB compared to 90 last year.

The same qualifications are required to be admitted to the school.

“I think this speaks to the value of DU and the level of connection that students felt toward this University,” said Forbs.