A large amount of new freshman leads to big changes for the University of Mississippi.

Whether you are a returning UM student, teacher, or staff member there is now way you can deny the over whelming amount of new freshman this fall semester. The University of Mississippi website, http://www.olemiss.edu/ has published a record 3,089 new freshman students attending the Oxford campus; this is a 19.9 percent increase over last fall.

Oxford is not the only campus experiencing greater admissions, there is a 6.5 percent combined increase between all of the University of Mississippi campuses, for a combined total of 19,536 Ole Miss students.

Not only has the university seen an increase in new students but in returning students as well. The number of freshman students choosing to return has increased from 78.3 percent to 83.1 percent returning this fall. Ole Miss has seen a steady increase in admissions for the past five year, and it is predicted to only go up from there by http://www.thedmonline.com.

It is unclear why the university has seen such an increase in new students. The DMonline accredits this increase to major publicity. Movies like, “The Blind Side”, and Cotton Bowl championships seem to have put Ole Miss on the map.

Another reason for a heightened enrollment can be accredited to the poor economy. http://www.boston.com reasons that a rise in public college enrollment is due to the slumping economy. A poor economy has students searching for lower tuition costs.

This is a trend Ole Miss is experiencing first hand, according to the DMonline, the university has seen a 30 percent student increase since the fall of the economy in 2008.

With an over whelming amount of new freshman comes numerous award-winning students to further the well-respected reputation of the university. According to olemiss.edu there are now 34 national merit and national achievement finalists in this years freshman class. Out of the 900 students enrolled in the Sally McDonnell Barksdale honors college a record 288 are freshman. Not only are freshman finding success at Ole Miss but returning students are as well. “ I am so excited to be back at Ole Miss this semester, and look forward to graduating… but not too soon.” exclaimed Marianna Decosimo, a UM sophomore.

“While we are excited about new students, we are just as excited about the increased retention rate,” stated Chancellor Dan Jones, according to the DMonline. “more students finding success in their freshman year means more sophomores and ultimately more graduates,”

With an over whelming amount of new students also comes negatives. Students, teaches, and staff members are all experiencing over crowded parking lots, classrooms, and administrative offices. “We have had to add some sections of classes freshman typically take to accommodate the number of students.” Said Sue Weakley a professor of journalism. “One of my classes was so full we had to search for chairs some times before class started.” The journalism school is not the only department experiencing these difficulties. Each department has seen an increase in students. According to olemiss.edu, the university has already put plans and strategies in to place for another large class next fall semester. “I hope that we can continue to add sections to classes so that all the students get the classes they need.” Explains professor Weakley.

According to the DMonline, the university plans to survey all freshman students to better understand the reasons behind deciding to attend Ole Miss.