RADFORD -- For the second year in a row, undergraduate applications for admission to Radford University are at a record high, and the academic profile for admitted students has also shown a significant improvement.

“These statistics tell the story of a Radford University student body that is continuously growing in quality and diversity,” said RU President Penelope W. Kyle. “Students and parents recognize that Radford is deeply invested in the quality of education and student life that we offer our students. They are at the heart of everything we do.”

The university has received 7,945 applications for fall 2008 admission. The number of applicants by early May 2007 was 7,552; by the same time in 2006 the number was 6,377. The numbers represent a 5.2 percent increase from 2007 to 2008 and a 24.6 percent increase from 2006 to 2008.

The academic profile for admitted students is also higher, while RU has extended more than 900 more offers this year than two years ago. The average high school GPA of admitted students for fall 2008 is 3.19 and the average SAT composite score is 1048. By comparison, the admitted student pool for fall 2006 reflected an average GPA of 3.17 and an average SAT composite score of 1033.

Another trend is an increase in students of color admitted to RU: 613 admitted for fall 2006; 694 admitted for fall 2007; 871 admitted for fall 2008. Those numbers represent a 25.5 percent increase from last year to this and a 42 percent increase from 2006 to 2008. As a percentage of all admitted students, the figures for 2006 and 2007 represented 13 percent, while the percentage of students of color in this year’s admitted pool is 15.4 percent.