The Class of 2019 is special. Expect this Class to be buzzing with excitement, cheering loud — perhaps louder and rowdier than their academic elders — at athletic events, connecting with student organizations, leading in classroom discussions and embracing campus life with cutting-edge gusto characteristic of the cohort.

“The UTSA Class of 2019 is expected to be very engaged in its college experience and take advantage of every opportunity that UTSA has to offer,” said UTSA Associate Vice president of Admissions, Orientation and Family Programming Dr. George Norton.

Many of members of the incoming freshmen class participated in campus activities before even graduating high school, attending UTSA recruitment events in the 2014-2015 Academic Year in, what Norton describes as, “record numbers.”

Said Norton, “The thing we find about students who are very engaged in their college decision and experiences is that they also tend to be successful academically; as such, we expect them to set records for staying in school and graduating on time.”

Considering the local, regional and national emphasis placed on on-time graduation as well as performance-based funds awarded to public universities, a cohort with favorable academic qualities is a boon to UTSA, contributing to the development of its campus culture in more ways than one.

While this crop of freshmen faced the same admission standards as last year’s freshmen class — a more selective admission criterion set in place in 2013 as part of UTSA’s Graduation Rate Improvement Plan (GRIP) — a higher number of the students who matriculated to the university this fall graduated at the top of their high school class.

“The trend is clear,” said Norton. “This incoming class includes the largest number of students who graduated in the Top 10 and Top 25 percent of their high school class that we have ever seen at UTSA.” Last fall, the university boasted that among its freshman, the Class of 2018, over 70 percent graduated in the top quartile of their high school class. Said Norton, “A good observation is that UTSA is a regional university well on its way to becoming a strong draw across the state, country and even internationally.” UTSA will publish its official data about the cohort after the Census Date, Sept. 2.

The week of August 17, the Class of 2019 will officially join its colleagues in shaping the present and future of UTSA.