10 impressive stats you didn’t know about Illinois State

With more than 20,000 students, 3,000+ employees, and nearly 200,000 alumni, there are bound to be some interesting stats out there when it comes to campus life at Illinois State.

So here at STATEside, we teamed up with the University’s Planning, Research, and Policy Analysis (PRPA) unit to find 10 stats about Illinois State that will impress you. PRPA, by the way, provides information, analysis, and planning support to assist in decision-making that advances the University’s mission.

To see more impressive Illinois State stats, check out President Dietz’s Top 10 Points of Pride or our Quick Facts.

Unless otherwise noted, the stats below are from the fall 2014 semester.

Most popular names

If you’re a student and think you meet a lot of Jessicas and Matthews in your classes, you’re not crazy. In fact, about 2 percent of all female students are named Jessica.

Here’s a closer look at the Top 5 most popular student names:

Female names (11,549 students total)

1. Jessica, 221 students
2. Emily, 219
3. Sarah, 213
4. Samantha, 176
5. Ashley, 169

Male names (9,066 students total)

1. Michael , 342 students
2. Matthew, 287
3. Ryan, 215
4. Nicholas, 207
5. Daniel, 192

Youngest and oldest students

Sure, many of our freshmen come to Illinois State straight from high school and graduate four years later. However, our student body is also comprised of many nontraditional students.

Just how nontraditional? Our youngest student is 16 years old. Our oldest? 81 years old.

Top high schools

Many of our students came to Illinois State with several other students from their high school graduating class. Here are the most common high schools where our students come from:

1. Naperville Central High School, Naperville, Illinois: 62 students
2. Neuqua Valley High School, Naperville, Illinois: 62 students
3. Lincoln-Way East High School, Frankfort, Illinois: 42 students
4. Warren Township High School, Gurnee, Illinois: 37 students
5. Normal Community High School, Normal, Illinois: 37 students

Alumni working at ISU

Illinois State graduates find jobs—and sometimes, they don’t have to go looking very far.

In fact, 1,337 Illinois State alumni work for their alma mater. That’s 34.5 percent of all employees.

Wireless devices

Now that smart phones, tablets, laptops, video game systems, and other wireless devices are a part of everyday life, that’s meant new challenges for Illinois State’s wireless Internet.

In fact, 33,000 electronic and mobile devices connect to ISU’s wireless network every day, according to PRPA.

A multiyear project is already underway to help keep up with this rising demand.

Most popular majors

Some things don’t change: Illinois State remains one of the top producers of teachers in the country.

In fact, elementary education was the most popular undergraduate major at Illinois State in fall 2014. The College of Education has two majors in the Top 5:

1. Elementary education, 1,057 students
2. Special education, 844
3. Business administration, 792
4. Marketing, 720
5. Nursing (BSN), 610

Student-athlete GPAs

Academic excellence has always been a pillar of Illinois State Athletics, but Redbird student-athletes have taken that practice to unprecedented levels in recent years with record-setting semesters.

Here are some impressive GPA averages for our Redbird student-athletes in fall 2014:

All student-athletes, 3.16 GPA (record high)

• Men’s tennis, 3.39
• Volleyball, 3.62
• Baseball, 3.15
• Men’s basketball, 2.99
• Football, 2.86
• Men’s cross country, 3.38
• Women’s golf, 3.60

In addition, a record-setting 301 student-athletes were named to the AFNI Honor Roll.

Online courses

Did you know that there were 4,440 individual courses offered to students during fall 2014?

Ninety-one of those classes were 100 percent online. Read more about online education at ISU.

International students

Illinois State is home to 425 international students from 63 different countries.

Here are the Top 5 countries where students come from, other than the U.S.

1. India, 125 students
2. Brazil, 50
3. China, 43
4. Germany, 19
5. Korea, 13

Students from outside Illinois

We are Illinois’ first public university, but we’re also the first choice for many students from outside Illinois.

Here’s a look at the Top 5 states where students (undergraduate and graduate) come from, other than Illinois:

1. Wisconsin, 86 students
2. Indiana, 80
3. Missouri, 74
4. Michigan, 52
5. Iowa, 50

Ryan Denham can be reached at rmdenha@IllinoisState.edu.