Kent State says this year's freshman class is one of the smartest -- but also one of the largest -- in the history of the University.

While the full enrollment numbers are still soft just a week after students hit the books the average grade point average is impressive: 3.27, what the university says is the 'best academic profile' in KSU history. President Lester Lefton says those in the honors program have a 3.83 GPA average.

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(KSU news release) As Kent State University begins a new academic year, the university is also welcoming a new freshman class that is already making a strong impression. Freshmen enrolled at the Kent Campus for the Fall 2012 Semester have the best academic profile in Kent State history. The average high school grade point average of a Kent State freshman is 3.27.

“The quality of this year’s freshman class is fantastic,” said Kent State President Lester A. Lefton. “We were able to select the best students to be a part of our Kent State family out of more than 21,000 applicants.”

In terms of student quality, 70 percent of the Kent State freshmen have a high school grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or better. The university is also seeing significant increases in ACT scores. The average ACT score of a Kent State freshman is 22.60. This year, freshmen of Kent State’s Honors College have an average high school GPA of 3.83 and an average ACT score of 28.97.